u/SpearTheSurvivor

https://archaeology.org/news/2016/08/23/160823-denisova-cave-needle/

Most arts tend to depict them as a bipedal chimps but I made something more original. I let it retain ape-like features like small braincase, protruding browridges, long external snout, hairy body, the prognathic face and the rectangular jaw. But I gave him more human-like feautures like thick-haired scalp and visible lips but derived traits like thin body fur and semi-projecting nose. Given Australopithecus had more nasal projections than modern apes I always thought they should've gotten a more protruding nose and recent genetic evidence suggest human lice diverged from gorilla lice around 3-4mya, during the timeline of Australopithecus. I believe the semi-projecting nose, thin body fur and thick-haired scalp evolved as response to thermoregulate in open habitats with upright bodies. Anyway It makes sense that Australopithecus is more akin to humans than chimps given the closer evolutionary relationship.

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https://www.iflscience.com/did-homo-erectus-speak-almost-certainly-say-scientists-82250

700k years ago, we are in the cold tundra of Europe. Today is the mating season and a male adult cave bear is there looking for a mate. He is in heat and in need to pass on his genes. But he doesn't find any mate. He finally senses a smell. It seems that he's finally found a mating option but she's not a female of his species. Not so far away three male brown bears are competing over a female. The stronger and more aggressive male will be the one who will access her. But to their surprise they meet an unexpected rival. (Hiding from the woods) The male cave bear found the female brown bear. He's taking a risk of interbreeding with a interspecies female but he has no other options. (Shows up to the brown bears) The courtship is being inrerrupted by an unexpected rival. The male cave bear is larger, stronger and more aggressive than the three brown bear males. (Stands up on two legs and intimidates his rivals off) He won the competition. The female brown bear is captivated by his strength. Brown bears and cave bears may be species who diverged from each other around 1mya but noneless they can still successfully admix with each other. For the male brown bears this wasn't a lucky day. One day the cave bear will vanish and be replaced by his smaller Asian relative, but his legacy will still live on the latter. Today 0.9-2.4% of cave bear DNA is present in modern-day brown bears and polar bears.