Today there is only one type of human being: homo sapiens.
But about 60,000 years ago we came face to face with (and even had sex with) another species, called the Neanderthal.
This ancient relative had large noses, a strong double-arched brow ridge, and relatively short, stocky bodies, skeletal evidence shows.
And although details of Neanderthals’ sexual organs are not preserved in the fossil record, it is believed that anatomically they were not that different from us.
Researchers say Neanderthals had penises of the same general size and shape as modern men.
Dr. Andrew Merriwether, an anthropologist at Binghamton University in New York, said Neanderthals and Homo sapiens were “incredibly similar.”
“They are virtually identical to us in most respects, so I assume the unpreserved soft parts would probably be the same as other humans,” he told MailOnline.
Professor Guido Barbujani, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Ferrera in Italy, told MailOnline: “Genitals are not preserved in fossils and there is no way to determine what they were like in Neanderthals.
About 60,000 years ago we came face to face with (and even had sex with) another species, called the Neanderthal. In the photo, reconstruction of a Neanderthal man at the Natural History Museum in London.
Neanderthals had large noses, a strong double-arched brow ridge, and relatively short, stocky bodies. The species was widely distributed in Eurasia (Europe and Asia), from Portugal and Wales in the west to the Altai Mountains of Siberia in the east.
“Evolution can be quite rapid at times, but I doubt it could have profoundly modified the reproductive organs.”
To a large extent, the history of Neanderthals (and details about their encounters with Homo sapiens) remains a great mystery.
But we do know that Homo sapiens migrated from Africa 60,000 to 70,000 years ago to Eurasia (Europe and Asia), where they encountered the Neanderthals.
When the two species first encountered each other, they probably used basic verbal communication or even languages, possibly enough to understand each other.
“Neanderthals were probably capable of speech, as we can infer from the morphology of some bones and from the inferences we can make from their brain,” Alessia Nava, an anthropologist at the University of Rome, told MailOnline.
However, Professor Barbujani noted that today all ape species “mate happily without verbal communication”, except humans.
Markings on ancient skulls and evidence of weapons suggest that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens engaged in brutal fights, but there was also widespread sexual relations.
“Of course, we assume the mating was consensual,” Paul Pettitt, professor of archeology at Durham University, told MailOnline.
Pictured is a recreated head and reconstructed skull of Shanidar Z, a 75,000-year-old Neanderthal skeleton.
Neanderthals had a long, low skull (compared to the more globular skull of modern humans) with a prominent brow ridge over the eyes. In the photo, a skull in a Neanderthal exhibition at the Museum of Man in Paris.
‘But a sad fact from the ancient world may suggest that this was far from the truth and perhaps one of the “partners” had little choice in the matter.
“So, in the hectic, hectic prehistoric world perhaps mating simply happened: improvised, with little thought or intention.
“If it was consensual, then we can assume there was foreplay, including sensual kissing and cuddling.”
Chimpanzees, modern-day relatives of both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, often engage in this type of intimate social bonding behavior and even hold hands, he added.
Whatever the circumstances under which the two species copulated, we know that they had successful offspring, which is why humans today have some Neanderthal DNA.
A 2020 study found that the two species could easily produce “fertile and healthy” babies because they were genetically similar.
The two species began interbreeding about 50,500 years ago and continued to do so for about 7,000 years, until the Neanderthals began to become extinct.
The reasons for their disappearance vary, but experts have suggested that they were vulnerable to climate change or lost violent battles with Homo sapiens for resources, such as food and shelter.
Neanderthals were skilled big game hunters and used spears to hunt animals such as deer, mountain goats, and even rhinos and mammoths. They likely would have hesitated to use these weapons if their families and lands were threatened, potentially by the arrival of homo sapiens. In the photo, ancient Neanderthal javelins.
Professor Pettitt is an expert who questions the assumption that Homo sapiens and Neanderthals were even two different species.
“The fact that the bones and brains of Neanderthals had different shapes to those of Homo sapiens does not necessarily mean that the two were actually different biological species,” he told MailOnline.
«In the animal realm, in a broader sense, there is abundant evidence of successful crosses between different ‘species’.
“Perhaps we should view the human picture of 50,000 to 40,000 years ago as a mosaic of regional ‘mixed race’ populations, largely biologically identical but with distinct genetic adaptations to their different environments.”
A close relative of modern humans, Neanderthals became extinct 40,000 years ago
Neanderthals were a close human ancestor who mysteriously became extinct about 40,000 years ago.
The species lived in Africa with early humans for millennia before moving to Europe about 300,000 years ago.
They were later joined by humans, who entered Eurasia about 48,000 years ago.
Neanderthals were a cousin species of humans, but not a direct ancestor (the two species diverged from a common ancestor) who perished about 50,000 years ago. The photo shows an exhibit from the Neanderthal museum.
These were the original “cavemen”, historically considered foolish and brutal compared to modern humans.
However, in recent years, and especially over the last decade, it has become increasingly evident that we have been underestimating Neanderthals.
A growing body of evidence points to a more sophisticated and multi-talented type of “caveman” than anyone thought possible.
It now seems likely that Neanderthals would have counted, buried their dead, painted, and even interbred with humans.
They used body art, such as pigments and beads, and were the first artists, with Neanderthal cave art (and symbolism) in Spain apparently predating the first modern human art by about 20,000 years.
It is believed that they hunted on land and did some fishing. However, they became extinct about 40,000 years ago after the success of Homo sapiens in Europe.