Differentiate the java man from the neanderthal man.?

Question

Differentiate the java man from the neanderthal man.?

Answer 1

Java man (pithecanthropus erectus) from the fossiles recovered  had a brain size of 815 to 940 cc which is about 1/2 the size of the Neandertal brain.  The fossiles discovered were about 700,000 yrs old... about 300,000 yrs before Neandertal appeared.  Creationist have long contended this was a form of ape instead of a hominid, but their views are largely irrational & not based on fact.

I suspect I can find some links for you but google should pull up any number of them if you use the name I gave you.

Edit:

Many hypothesis do suggest the transition suggested by the next poster, but they are disputed ... it is possible & even probable Neandertal was an evolved homo erectus as Sapien is thought to be. Some tend to toss in homo hablis as a possible ancestor & others think they simply co-existed with Erectus.  Too few fossiles have been discovered to come to a conclusive decision & some of these hominids may have just been dead enders that did not evolve. Others (Trinkaus & Hawks) think Neandertal mated & passed along some genes to Sapiens while in the Mid East &/or Europe.

The regional hypothesis suggests Erectus mated with Sapien in Asia to introgress some genes too. Chuckle... I avoid those arguments when possible.

Edit: JimZ

Lay the fingers of your hand in front of the keyboard, look closely at them... if male, the ring finger should be longer than the index finger, but if female the index finger should be longer than the ring finger.  That ring finger allows throwing an object with more accuracy. The index finger being longer makes precision work easier.

Answer 2

Well" ......... One Enjoyed Coffee with his Brontosaurus Steak the other didn't.

Answer 3

Java man was assumed to be an ancestor of man as was Neanderthal man.  Few paleontologist believe that today.  Java man fossils were found in the Sangiran region of Java.  They usually have very poor dating of the fossils and they were general poorly preserved.  Some of them were gigantic and many are considered by some to be a different species from other erectus.  They are extremely robust and one is reported to even have a nuchal crest.  It doesn't belong in the human line and is thought by many to be descended from Homo georgicus.  If that is true, it would have most likely long since split off the human lineage.  That would make it an ape unless you don't subscribe to the theory of evolution.  I suppose you could invent a theory of biology that states that all hominids evolve simultaneously in the direction of modern humans.  

Just like Neanderthal is a side branch, it is likely that some if not all of the Java fossils were side branches that split much earlier.

Ed, by your theory, women couldn't throw straight.  My sister could throw straighter and better than 90% of men who regularly played baseball.

Answer 4

Java man is actually now known as Homo erectus.  It was the first intermediate form (not a term I prefer to use but in this case it has some use) and wa s discovered by Dubois.  Later versions of Homo erectus were fire builders (apparently) and tool builders.  They evolved into Homo heidelbergensis which evovled into Homo neanderthalensis.  Homo erectus was generally adapted to warm climates.  Neanderthals were adapted to cold climates.  Homo erectus was an omnivore.  Neanderthal was a carnivore.  Erectus had a smaller brain.  Neanderthals had a brain about as big as ours.  Erectus was sometimes robust.  Neanderthals were really robust as an adaptation to the cold.  Neanders had short limbs to cope with the climate.  Neanderthals seemed to use hides alot based on wear marks on thier teeth.  Homo erectus is sometimes thought to be the first to throw things effectively and developed a hand axe for throwing (apparently) and kept this technology for a million years (Archulean).  The youngest H erectus fossil  found was about 20,000 years old and was in Indonesia.  The youngest H. neanderthal was about 30,000 years ago.  Erectus lived from 1.8 million to 20,000 years ago.  Neanderthals were more like 350,000 or 400,000 to 30,000.  In both cases, there are stories which leave open the possibilty that they might have survived in very small numbers into recent times (but don't put that on any school paper).