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Center for the Study of Human Origins Department
of 25 Waverly Place telephone: |
Although
recent years have witnessed important scientific breakthroughs
in the study of Neanderthals and their place
in human evolution, there have been no recent forums on the subject
that have allowed
leading scholars to come together to exchange ideas and to compare
the results of different methods and approaches. The many new
exciting and important developments in the field, as well
as the introduction
of innovative techniques and technologies, have transformed our
appreciation of Neanderthal paleobiology, adaptation to the environment,
and evolutionary relationships. With this in mind, Katerina Harvati
(Max Planck Institute) and Terry Harrison (New York University)
organized a conference that provided an opportunity for leading
scientists involved in all aspects of Neanderthal
research to present
their latest findings and to discuss
Visit
the conference photo gallery List of Participants and Discussants:
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2005
The ‘Neanderthals
Revisited: New Approaches and Perspectives’ conference,
held at New York University (January 27-29), focused
on cutting-edge research on Neanderthal biology and evolution,
and
their interaction with modern humans. Leading scholars presented
brief lectures on their latest research findings. Presentations
were followed by an opportunity for discussion and Q&A (a list
of participants is presented below, and the program of events is
attached).
Contributions re-evaluated Neanderthal and modern human
anatomy, inferred
Neanderthal adaptations and habitual activities, developmental
patterns, phylogenetic relationships, and the reasons for the
Neanderthal extinction. Presentations made reference
to new methods, including
computer tomography, 3D geometric morphometrics, experimental
growth studies, genetic and paleogenetic analyses, as well
as new perspectives,
including dental analysis, cladistic methodologies, bioenergetics,
and expanded comparative analyses. Contributors presented
novel inferences from evolutionary theory to improve our understanding
of Neanderthal-modern 
human
interactions, critically re-evaluated the methodology and practice
of systematics, and discussed
new reconstructions
of European paleoenvironments and their implications for Neanderthal
extinction.
