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| Reconstruction of NEANDERTHAL PAIR animation in 3D max |
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| Group of Neanderthal People walking |
Homo
neanderthalensis:
Height: Males: average 5 ft 5 in (164 cm);
Females: average 5 ft 1 in (155 cm)
Weight: Males: average 143 lbs (65 kg);
Females: average 119 lbs (54 kg)
Overview:
Neanderthals (the ‘th’ pronounced as ‘t’) are
our closest extinct human relative. Some defining features of their skulls
include the large middle part of the face, angled cheek bones, and a huge nose
for humidifying and warming cold, dry air. Their bodies were shorter and
stockier than ours, another adaptation to living in cold environments. But
their brains were just as large as ours and often larger - proportional to
their brawnier bodies.
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| Reconstructed Neanderthal Pair in 3D Max |
Neanderthals made and used a diverse set of
sophisticated tools, controlled fire, lived in shelters, made and wore
clothing, were skilled hunters of large animals and also ate plant foods, and
occasionally made symbolic or ornamental objects. There is evidence that
Neanderthals deliberately buried their dead and occasionally even marked their
graves with offerings, such as flowers. No other primates, and no earlier human
species, had ever practiced this sophisticated and symbolic behavior.
DNA has been recovered from more than a dozen
Neanderthal fossils, all from Europe; the Neanderthal Genome Project is one of
the exciting new areas of human origins research.
History of Discovery:
Neanderthal 1 was the first specimen to be
recognized as an early human fossil. When it was discovered in 1856 in Germany,
scientists had never seen a specimen like it: the oval shaped skull with a low,
receding forehead and distinct browridges, the thick, strong bones. In 1864, it
became the first fossil hominin species to be named. Geologist William King
suggested the name Homo neanderthalensis (Johanson and Edgar, 2006), after
these fossils found in the Feldhofer Cave of the Neander Valley in Germany (tal—a
modern form of thal—means “valley” in German). Several years after Neanderthal
1 was discovered, scientists realized that prior fossil discoveries—in 1829 at
Engis, Belgium, and in 1848 at Forbes Quarry, Gibraltar—were also Neanderthals.
Even though they weren’t recognized at the time, these two earlier discoveries
were actually the first early human fossils ever found.
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| neanderthal cave |
How They Survived:
Compared to early humans living in tropical
Africa, with more abundant edible plant foods available year-round, the number
of plant foods Neanderthals could eat would have dropped significantly during
the winter of colder climates, forcing Neanderthals to exploit other food
options like meat more heavily. There is evidence that Neanderthals were
specialized seasonal hunters, eating animals were available at the time (i.e.
reindeer in the winter and red deer in the summer). Scientists have clear
evidence of Neanderthal hunting from uncovering sharp wooden spears and large
numbers of big game animal remains were hunted and butchered by Neanderthals.
There is also evidence from Gibraltar that when they lived in coastal areas,
they exploited marine resources such as mollusks, seals, dolphins and fish.
Isotopic chemical analyses of Neanderthal bones also tell scientists the
average Neanderthal’s diet consisted of a lot of meat. Scientists have also
found plaque on the remains of molar teeth containing starch grains—concrete
evidence that Neanderthals ate plants.
The Mousterian stone tool industry of
Neanderthals is characterized by sophisticated flake tools that were detached
from a prepared stone core. This innovative technique allowed flakes of
predetermined shape to be removed and fashioned into tools from a single
suitable stone. This technology differs from earlier ‘core tool’ traditions,
such as the Acheulean tradition of Homo erectus. Acheulean tools worked from a
suitable stone that was chipped down to tool form by the removal of flakes off
the surface.
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| The original Neanderthal skeleton from the Neander Valley |
Neanderthals used tools for activities like
hunting and sewing. Left-right arm asymmetry indicates that they hunted with
thrusting (rather than throwing) spears that allowed them to kill large animals
from a safe distance. Neanderthal bones have a high frequency of fractures,
which (along with their distribution) are similar to injuries among
professional rodeo riders who regularly interact with large, dangerous animals.
Scientists have also recovered scrapers and awls (larger stone or bone versions
of the sewing needle that modern humans use today) associated with animal bones
at Neanderthal sites. A Neanderthal would probably have used a scraper to first
clean the animal hide, and then used an awl to poke holes in it, and finally
use strips of animal tissue to lace together a loose-fitting garment.
Neanderthals were the first early humans to wear clothing, but it is only with
modern humans that scientists find evidence of the manufacture and use of bone
sewing needles to sew together tighter fitting clothing.
Neanderthals also controlled fire, lived in
shelters, and occasionally made symbolic or ornamental objects. There is
evidence that Neanderthals deliberately buried their dead and occasionally even
marked their graves with offerings, such as flowers. No other primates, and no
earlier human species, had ever practiced this sophisticated and symbolic
behavior. This may be one of the reasons that the Neanderthal fossil record is
so rich compared to some earlier human species; being buried greatly increases the
chance of becoming a fossil!
Evolutionary Tree Information:
Both fossil and genetic evidence indicate that
Neanderthals and modern humans (Homo sapiens) evolved from a common ancestor
between 700,000 and 300,000 years ago. Neanderthals and modern humans belong to
the same genus (Homo) and inhabited the same geographic areas in western Asia
for 30,000–50,000 years; genetic evidence indicate while they interbred with
non-African modern humans, they ultimately became distinct branches of the
human family tree (separate species).
In fact, Neanderthals and modern humans may
have had little direct interaction for tens of thousands of years until during
one very cold period when modern humans spread into Europe. Their presence may
have prevented Neanderthals from expanding back into areas they once favored
and served as a catalyst for the Neanderthal’s impending extinction. Over just
a few thousand years after modern humans moved into Europe, Neanderthal numbers
dwindled to the point of extinction. All traces of Neanderthals disappeared by
about 40,000 years ago. The most recently dated Neanderthal fossils come from
small areas of western Europe and the Near east, which was likely where the
last population of this early human species existed.
Hunting technology
Great strides have been made in understanding
Neanderthal hunting technology. Neanderthals were consummate hunters of medium
and large-sized mammals. There is evidence that they used stone-tipped spears
to hunt. For instance, it has been observed that Levallois points often bear
impact scars on their tips (Shea 1988). In addition, retouched Mousterian
points from several sites in western Europe (La Cotte de St. Brelade, Bouheben,
Oscurusciuto, and Abric del Pastor) have been identified as bearing impact scars
too (Villa & Soriano 2010). These stone-tipped spears were probably used at
close-range for thrusting, or thrown short distances as part of an ambush
hunting strategy — neither the stone points nor the features of Neanderthal
anatomy support the notion that Neanderthals used long-distance projectiles
(Shea & Sisk 2010, Churchill & Schmitt 2002, Rhodes & Churchill
2008).
there is evidence that Neanderthals
incorporated smaller animals and plant foods into their diets too. For
instance, Neanderthals collected small game such as tortoises, shellfish,
hares, rabbits, and birds in the Mediterranean region, and this trend increased
dramatically just prior to or within the MP/UP transition (Stiner 2006). At the
site of Vanguard Cave, Gibraltar, a small assemblage of mollusks was found, in
addition to a few marine mammal bones (monk seal and dolphin) with cut-marks,
indicating that Neanderthals exploited marine resources when they had the
opportunity (Stringer et al. 2008).
Symbolism
One of the most pressing questions about
Neanderthals is whether they had symbolic thought. Symbolic thought is widely
agreed to be one of the hallmarks of modern (McBrearty & Brooks 2000) or
complex (Langley et al. 2008) human behavior. It is also associated with the
cognitive underpinnings of language (Chase 1991, Deacon 1997).
Archaeologically, symbolism may be manifested as figurative art, ornamentation,
use of pigments, and ritual burial (d'Errico et al. 2003, McBrearty &
Brooks 2000, Mellars 2005, Langley et al. 2008). While there is no figurative
art associated with Neanderthals, personal ornaments such as pierced or grooved
animal teeth and ivory rings have been found at the Châtelperronian sites of
Saint-Césaire and Arcy-sur-Cure, France (Lévêque et al. 1993, Hublin et al.
1996). However, as mentioned above, the question remains of whether
Neanderthals were the makers of the Châtelperronian (Bar-Yosef & Bordes
2010). If they were not, then there is no other evidence indicating that they
made ornaments. Mineral pigments are often used in symbolic contexts among
humans today, but their chemical properties make them useful in activities such
as hide tanning and for tool-hafting (Hovers et al. 2003). There is evidence
that Neanderthals used mineral pigments such as red ochre (hematite) and
manganese dioxide at several sites in Europe, including Pech de l'Azé I, France
(d'Errico 2003), and Cueva de los Aviones and Cueva Antón, Spain (Zilhao et al.
2009). However, we do not know whether this pigment use was symbolic or not.
Neanderthals most likely buried their dead, as evidenced from the presence of
articulated Neanderthal skeletons found in dozens of sites (Langley et al.
2008, Riel-Salvatore & Clark 2001) (Figure 3). While some have argued that
these skeletons were preserved by natural causes, such as cave roof collapses
(Gargett 1989, 1999), rather than deliberately buried, there is general
consensus that the completeness of the skeletons validates an interpretation of
deliberate burial (Belfer-Cohen & Hovers 1992, d'Errico 2003). The lack of
clear grave goods associated with these burials, however, lends doubt to the
issue of whether these are symbolic burials, although they do indicate caring
for the deceased beyond what is seen in non-human primates (Chase & Dibble
1987). The suggestion that Neanderthals at Shanidar Cave, Iraq, were buried
with flowers has never been substantiated. While flower pollen was found in
sediments near the burials, it could have been introduced by rodents such as
the Persion Jird, which is known to gather flowers and bring them back to its
burrow (Sommer 1999). In sum, there is evidence to suggest that Neanderthals
had some level of symbolic thought. The use of mineral pigments, the presence
of burials, and other indicators of behavioral complexity, such as composite
technology, become more frequent after 60,000 ya (Langley et al. 2008),
suggesting that behavioral complexity and symbolic thought may have emerged as
a component of Neanderthal adaptations towards the end of their existence as a
species.
The Fate of the Neanderthals
The transition from the Middle to the Upper
Paleolithic in Europe also marks the transition from a time of Neanderthal
occupation to that of modern humans. It is widely accepted that modern humans
first arrived in Europe from the southeast, bearing the Aurignacian culture,
and replaced the Neanderthals. The latest MP assemblages have been documented
in the Iberian peninsula at sites such as Gorham's Cave, Gibraltar at 28,000 ya
(Finlayson 2006; but see Zilhao and Pettitt 2006 for a critique of these dates),
and it has been suggested that the Neanderthals were "pushed" to this
cul-de-sac by the invading modern humans, deteriorating climatic conditions, or
both. Some have argued that the colder and highly variable climate of oxygen
isotope stage 3 (57–24,000 ya; van Andel & Davies 2003, Finlayson &
Carrion 2007) resulted in periods of climatic stress which may ultimately have
been responsible for the demise of the Neanderthals (Stringer et al. 2003)
through mechanisms such as the fragmentation of Neanderthal-favored habitats
and their inability to adapt to new habitats (Finlayson 2004). Others have
suggested that the Campanian Ignimbrite volcanic eruption at 40,000 ya
initiated a volcanic winter that had a devastating effect on the ecology of
eastern and southeastern Europe (Fedele et al. 2008), possibly wiping out
populations of Neanderthals from Central Europe to the Caucasus (Golovanova et
al. 2010). Demographic modeling (Sorenson 2010) and eco-cultural niche modeling
(Banks et al. 2008) have both rejected climate as a driving factor for
Neanderthal extinction, and suggested that other factors may have been
involved, such as disease, violence, or competition with modern humans.
Finally, some have suggested that Neanderthals did not go extinct, but were
assimilated into populations of modern humans (Smith et al. 2005). Recent
genetic studies have shown that modern European and Asian DNA contains 1–4%
Neanderthal genes. This suggests that before Neanderthals became extinct, some,
at least, interbred with modern humans (Green et al. 2010).
Neanderthals may have gone diving to find
shells from the sea floor: Study:
Researchers have discovered for the first time
that Neanderthals made tools from seashells, not just from those lying on the
shore, but may have also gone diving to collect them from the seabed.
According to a study, published in the journal
PLOS on Thursday, Neanderthals, often thought to be the inferior cousins to
modern humans, may have retrieved seashells to make tools from waters as deep
as 13 feet.
Researchers, including those from the
University of Colorado at Boulder in the US, assessed more than 170 shell tools
found in an Italian cave.
Based on patterned abrasions found on the
surface of these shells, the scientists could distinguish between those which
were picked up by the Neanderthals from the seashore, and those that were
collected from under water.
Taking a closer look at the tools, they found
that nearly three-quarters of the shells had opaque and slightly abraded
exteriors, as if they had been sanded down over time, indicating that these had
washed up on a sandy beach.
The rest of the shells, the study noted, had a
shiny and smooth exterior.
According to the scientists the shiny shells,
which were also a little bit bigger, may have been plucked directly from the
seafloor as live animals.
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| Neanderthal Sea-shell hunting and collection animation from sea |
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