Question

Fossil man having cranial capacity similar to that of modern man was
A. Australopithecus
B. Java ape man
C. Neanderthal man
D. Peking man

Answer 1

Hint: This extinct species was lived in about 40000 years ago in Eurasia. They were extinct due to the competition with extermination, great climatic change, disease, etc.

Complete Answer:
- Homo sapiens or modern human species that we are in Latin means 'wise man.' Our species is the only remaining species of the genus Homo but the focus of much speculation has been where we come from. Modern humans emerged in Africa during the past two hundred thousand years and developed from their most probably recent common ancestor, Homo erectus.
- Homo erectus is an extinct, between 1.9 million and 135,000 years ago human species. Two main models to describe the evolution of Homo sapiens have. Such are the "out of Africa" and the "multi-regional." The concept "Out of Africa" is the most commonly accepted concept at present.
- Homo sapiens evolved before spreading across the planet in Africa. The 'multi-regional' model, on the other hand, indicates that the evolution of the Homo sapiens took place over a long time in many areas. The mixture of the different groups inevitably culminated in the single Homo sapiens species we see today.
- Compared to the genome of Neanderthal, human genomes are closer to each other than each of them is similar to the genome of Neanderthal. Some Neanderthal DNA is identical to DNA of Asian and European origin, but these are not present in African DNA. This indicates that modern human beings developed in Africa and spread to Asia and Europe in which Neanderthals were living.
- In these regions, a degree of interbreeding took place between early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. Neanderthal's cranial capacity is slightly greater than the average of 1,400 cc for modern people, with an average cranial capacity of 1600 cc, suggesting that their size was higher. The cranial capacity of the Neanderthal man is 1300 to 1600 c.c. same as the modern man.

Thus, the correct answer is option C. i.e., Neanderthal man.

Note: The modern human beings developed in Africa and spread to Asia and Europe in which Neanderthals were living. Compared to the genome of Neanderthal, human genomes are closer to each other than each of them is similar to the genome of Neanderthal. Some Neanderthal DNA is identical to DNA of Asian and European origin, but these are not present in African DNA.