Assessment Questions 5.7

1. What advantages did early anatomically modern humans have over premodern humans, contributing to the survival of the former and the extinction of the latter?

Early anatomically modern humans had significant advantages, including better adaptation to environmental changes through cultural flexibility. This flexibility allowed them to invent new technologies and approaches to subsistence, housing, clothing, and heating, providing a key behavioral advantage over premodern humans.

2. How does the human skeleton serve as a record of dietary deficiencies during developmental years, and what evidence is provided in the passage?

The human skeleton preserves records of dietary deficiencies through features like Harris lines and enamel hypoplasia. Harris lines are longitudinal cracks at the ends of long bones, indicative of dietary stress during physical development. Enamel hypoplasia is a medical condition affecting tooth enamel, and evidence in the passage suggests that Neandertal remains show a higher incidence of these conditions compared to early anatomically modern humans.

3. How does the passage connect a particular gene cluster from Neandertals to the severity of Covid-19 symptoms in modern humans?

The passage mentions a gene cluster on chromosome 3 that entered the modern human genome through admixture with Neandertals. People carrying this gene cluster and contracting Covid-19 are statistically more likely to exhibit severe symptoms, suggesting a potential link between this Neandertal-inherited gene cluster and an overreaction of the immune response to the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus.