Homo Heidelbergensis, or a Heidelberg man. What did the Heidelberg man look like and what did he do?

Interest in events taking place in ancient times does not weaken until today. And this is understandable: the oldest and oldest people, although they differed from us in appearance and way of life, are our ancestors. Evolution did not stop for a moment, transforming living beings on planet Earth, turning one kind of people into others.

One of the findings of archaeologists, made relatively recently, made it possible to find out that besides the Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal people known to all, there was another kind of primitive man, named Homo Heidelbergensis. How does this intelligent being differ from others? What discoveries did archeologists and anthropologists do by examining his remains? The answers to these questions we will try to present in this article.

When and by whom was the Heidelberg man discovered

A fossilized man, called "Heidelberg", would be discovered by the German Schotenzak scientist as early as the beginning of the 20th century near the small town of Heidelberg. That's why he was given such a name. The depth of occurrence of fossil remains was about 24 meters from the surface of the earth. The Heidelberg man, or rather his jaw, combined both primitive features (massiveness and absence of the chin protuberance), and signs of modern man (the structure of the teeth).

The scientists came to the conclusion that this kind of primitive intelligent creature lived in the era of the Early Pleistocene (about 420 thousand years ago). This was also indicated with fragments of the bodies of the ancient rhinoceros, horses, lions and buffalo that are with the remains.

The study of fragments of the skull allowed not only to find out what the Heidelberg man looked like (the appearance of primitive people, as we know, can tell you about many things), but also to make other, more important discoveries. We'll talk about them a little later, and now we'll try to understand what this ancestor of man was like outwardly.

Expected appearance

According to the scientists' assumptions, the Heidelberg man was not much different from the Sinanthropus and Pithecanthropus in appearance . Sloping forehead, deep-set eyes, outstanding massive jaws are considered a characteristic feature of people of that era. The width of the spinal column, similar in structure to the Neanderthal one, led to the conclusion that this intelligent being moved on the hind limbs, that is, on the legs, as well as the modern man. The growth of the Heidelberg man was somewhat larger than the Neanderthal man, but less than the Cro-Magnon man, who was closest in structure to the modern man.

Conditions for the existence of a Heidelberg man

Heidelberg man, judging by the whereabouts of his remains, lived in natural caves, as well as other places where you could hide from the weather and predators. Representatives of this kind of ancient people already knew how to use primitive tools. This is indicated by the pieces of artificially processed silicon found near the fossil remains, which are most likely used as scrapers and knives.

The ancient and ancient people everywhere were engaged in gathering and hunting for animals, and that kind of person, referred to in this article, was no exception. In its habitats, archaeologists have found animal bones, which, apparently, were eaten by the Heidelberg people.

Occupations of a Heidelberg person

This kind of primitive man was inherent in living in a society of his own kind. Heidelberg people created large groups, so it was easier for them to hunt, raise their offspring and simply survive in that severe era. The Heidelberg man was able to make primitive clothes from skins, the remains of animal skins say about this. Proceeding from this, it can be safely asserted that this species used tools not only from fragments of stones, but also bones of fish and animals (needles, awls, etc.).

The Heidelberg man had his own language?

As we know, in ancient times there were various kinds of people. Evolution "worked" not only on their appearance, but also on what is today called communicative abilities, that is, the ability to communicate. The structure of the jaw and later fragments of skulls of Heidelberg people allowed scientists to conclude that they had the ability to make articulate sounds, that is, to speak. The structure of the diaphragm, jaws and spinal canal also suggests that this ancestor of man was able not only to make primitive sounds, but also to form syllables and adjust the loudness of pronunciation. Of course, speech in this case can go about a set of 10 words, not more. Nevertheless, this fact makes it possible to speak of a Heidelberg man as a reasonable humanoid being, capable of recognizing the sound signals of his fellow tribesmen, and thus interacting with them at the level of reason, and not instincts.

Cannibalism in the society of the Heidelberg man: food tradition or ritual?

Described above, although it is an amazing discovery, but still some moments of the life of the Heidelberg man struck even more archeologists and anthropologists. The fact is that along with the bitten animals' bones, scientists discovered the bones of primitive people, who, according to the traces left on them, were simply gnawed. Is it possible that the primitive man, already intelligent and master of the rudiments of speech, was a cannibal? Yes it is. Although, by the number of found bones can not be argued that the Heidelberg people daily eaten their own kind. Most likely, cannibalism was part of a certain ritual, as the bones of human victims, in contrast to the remains of animals, lay apart from the rest of the fragments found.

Heidelberg people are of great value in the study of primitive society and human evolution. This find still hides in itself a lot of riddles, which will be surely solved.