Freshman Seminar
February 11, 1999
Neanderthal Man
Homo sapien Neanderthalensis lived 100,000 to 300,000 years before the present. Neanderthals evolved from Homo erectus on our evolution tree. Neanderthals survived for at least 5000 – 10,000 years after the arrival of modern populations in the adjacent parts of Spain and the Mediterranean coast. The Ebro Valley seems to act as a sharp ecological boundary of several other species. The biological and behavioral adaptations of the expanding modern populations were probably not adequate to compete with local Neanderthals, at least until the modern populations had time to develop their own adaptations to cope with the conditions. Despite the prolonged period of coexistence, there is no evidence that the late Neanderthals in southern Spain adopted any biological tricks or technology innovations from the more advanced modern humans immediately to the North (The Fate of the Neanderthals 2).
The Neanderthals did not only just live in Spain. Their range covered a great distance. Mostly in Europe, but some lived as far as Iraq and Russia. The first recognized the Neanderthal fossils were found in Germany in the Needier Valley. This is where the Neanderthals derived their name. Scientist working in Gibraltar, decades earlier, found a skullcap. The scientist put the skull aside until the unearthing of the fossils in Germany (Why Neanderthals 1).
Neanderthals were physically different from us in several prominent ways. Their robust physique with wide shoulders and short arms and legs are characteristic of individuals who lived in extremely cold climates and need to retain as much heat as possible shorter limbs provide less surface area through which heat can escape. Their stocky appearance was enhanced by their strong musculature. By examining the point at which the muscle attaches to the bone scientists can determine that their calves and biceps were really well developed. The pectorals and dorsal muscles were in the same incredible shape. It was calculated that a Neanderthal, because of its great muscle mass, would weigh twenty pounds more that modern Homo sapien is the same height. Another aspect of Neanderthal physique was the wider hips allow for a lager birth canal through which a larger head could easily pass. The existence of larger hips in males as well as females is explained as an evolutionary byproduct. Wider hips also cause individuals to take on a knock-kneed stance and contribute to the rocking walk of the species. This can be a disadvantage if one needs to be running from predators. However, the advantage is being able to give birth the babies with larger heads were obviously worth the risk. Other feature of the Neanderthal skull are: a shelf-like ridge over the eyes, large, round eye sockets, a pronounced nose bridge, large round nostrils, a protruding jaw, slanted forehead and large teeth. These teeth were for chewing tough meat (Homo sapiens Neanderthals General Description 2).
Because of the larger birth canal and the larger heads the Neanderthals had bigger brain. The average cranial capacity of the Neanderthals is found to be slightly larger than that of modern humans, 1500 cubic centimeters compared to 1375 cubic centimeters. We can not necessarily say that the Neanderthals were smarter because of their larger head size, In fact, there is evidence that suggest that they were less intelligent than modern humans that lived the same time they did. This difference is not all that great 20% of modern humans have a cranial capacity greater than the Neanderthals size (Neanderthals Features 3).
The Neanderthals believed in life after death. Sites have been found were the body has been clearly buried. Once such example was a teenage Neanderthal boy found buried in a pit, his head rested on a collection of flint flakes. Other burial sites, had sprinkling of red ochre on the bodies and/or animal bones buried with the remains. The arrangement of soil around the fossils shows that those individuals were actually buried not just covered up by sentiments. Pollen grains close to the body have pointed to flowers having been laid with the body. Tools as well as animal bones have also been found with the bodies. This suggests that maybe the Neanderthals believed in some kind of after life. This shows that the Neanderthals were the first to believe in an afterlife of our species. This also means that the Neanderthals were the first to have some kind of established beliefs and religion. A religion may have helped the Neanderthal survive in just the same ways that it helps people today survive, such as providing a since of belonging, a way of living and a moral code. The Neanderthals were not the brutes that our modern culture would have you to believe. Burial rituals show that the Neanderthals were capable of thinking in the abstract and that they could communicate with each other in a highly developed way. The bear had a spiritual or super natural meaning to Neanderthals. In Europe, several caves have been found containing Neanderthal remains along with loads of bear skulls neatly arranged in pits or in pills of ten, so they were all facing the cave entrance.
Up until the time of the Neanderthal, no tools had been made with stone that had been shaped. Prior to the Neanderthal Mousterian technology tools had been fashioned from whatever rock they could find. The Neanderthals knew what sort of tool they wanted and they shaped the rock in a basic kind of way. This new technique permitted new types of tools to be made. Each with different and new uses (Tool Technology 2).
Neanderthals were hunters and gathers. Neanderthals participated in close range kills meaning that they were less than a foot away from their prey, when they attacked. They hunted with wooden spears with stone tips and thrusted them into animals a few inches away. In order to do this; Neanderthals must have had great stamina however do to this close range combat with larger game that they would have permanent marks of pain on their bones. Another hunting technique used by the Neanderthals was to drive large herds of animals over cliffs or elevated surface. While other Neanderthals at the bottom to slaughter the animals. The carcass would be carved up and carried back to their homes for the rest of the family. Neanderthals did more scavenging that they did hunting. Neanderthals hunted medium size animals such as reindeer and red deer, but they continue to scavenge for larger animals like horse and wild cattle. The main staple of Neanderthals diet was not flesh at all judging from the traces of pollen left on flake tools at the site it was aquatic plants plucked from the cannon streams. Neanderthals might have lacked what is called planning depth. They lacked the ability to anticipate future events and availability of food. They could not predict patterns in a dynamic and changing landscape. Salmon is an example of rich food exploited by modern humans. It was plentiful during the time of the Neanderthals. The Neanderthals never gather the salmon. Not only did the Neanderthals neglect taking advantage of the abundance of salmon they failed to exploit the annual reindeer migrations. Neanderthals suffered from nutritional stress. If people do not receive significant nutrients in the first seven years of their lives their teeth do not fully develop. More than three hundred Neanderthals remains were tested and 40% suffered this aliment. This indicants the edible sources were scarce.
Neanderthals were one of the first groups to have the ability to decides how the were going to eat. They did this by controlling the use of fire and more than likely they cooked their food. Neanderthals also used fire to produce warmth to survive freezing ice age temperatures. Although they knew how to construct cooking hearths, they did not know how to cook more heat from a fireplace by lining it with stones or digging ventilation channels. Neanderthals huddled close to the fires to stay warm during cold night (Hunting and Diet 4).
Neanderthals had the ability to make music. A flute made from a juvenile bear femur with two pieced holes was found at the former Neanderthal hunting camp of Divje Bube I in Slovenia. There were four puncture holes at the end at the bone. The straight alignment of the holes suggests that they were made by Neanderthals using a carnivore tooth to pierce the bone note by knowing animals. Neanderthals had the ability to make music and possible expressing the prehistoric fears and joys in their lives, much like we do today. This reinforces the idea that Neanderthals have the characteristics of modern man’s behavior.
Neanderthals also had the ability to create art. Amulet has been found, that were worn around the necks. The same pendent was found with pierced animal teeth in what appeared to be a hut. Some archeologists suspect that this pendent is evidence of interaction between Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon. Either way on can be assured that the amulet had some sort of symbolic meaning to its owner (Art 2).
The fossil record of the Neanderthals abruptly ends about 35,000 years ago. After this time, Homo sapiens sapien dominated the scene. Why Neanderthals suddenly went extinct is a topic of many questions and while we may never know the true reason there are many hypotheses to explain this event.
Most likely there is more than one explanation to describe the occurrence. However its very likely that modern humans had some role in the extinct of Neanderthals since Neanderthals disappeared only several hundred thousands years after they encounter Modern Man (Date with Fate 2).
Works Cited
Art. http://thunder.indstate.edu/~ramanank/art.html.
Date with Fate. http://www.iinet.net.au/~chawkins/fate.htm.
Hunting and Diet. http://thunder.indstate.edu/~ramanank/other.html.
Life with a Neanderthal. http://www.iinet.net.au/~chawkins/life.htm.
Mellars, Paul. The Fate of the Neanderthals. Nature, Vol. 395, Oct. 8. www.nature.com.
Neanderthal Features. http://www.iinet.net.au/~chawkins/looking.htm.
Tool Technology. http://www.iinet.net.au/~chawkins/tools.htm.
Morgan Jeffries
The first Neandertal remains were discovered in Gibraltar in 1848, but they were ignored. It was not until 1856 when the first Neandertal remain was recognized. This first Neandertal fossil was a skull cap. The skull cap was discovered by workmen in Neander Valley, near Dusseldorf, Germany. The workmen were in search of limestone in a cave and, because they were uninterested in fossil remains, smashed through most of the fossilized Neandertal.
Neandertal man received his name from the location where he was first recognizably discovered. Most people know them as Neanderthals, but Neandertals is the more correct name. Today the name refers to a group of extinct hominids that share common features and lineage with modern man. Most people know them as Neanderthals, but Neandertals is the more correct name.
Neandertals lived throughout Europe, and in parts of Iraq and Russia. They lived during the last Ice Age, during the middle and upper Paleolithic Era, some 230,000 to 30,000 years ago. They made shelter out of caves and rock overhangs.
Neandertals lived during the same time as early modern man, Cro-Magnon. Some archeologists believe that both creatures evolved during the same time. One – Neandertals – evolved in Europe and the other – Cro-Magnon – evolved in Africa. Both are thought to have evolved from populations of Homo erectus. Because of this close kinship between Neandertals and modern man, it is thought that Neandertals are a subspecies of us, Homo sapiens sapiens. Thus, giving them the scientific name Homo sapiens neanderthalensis.
Neandertals’ characteristics; such as stocky bodies, short limbs, broad noses, prominent brow ridges, and other robust features; were most likely adaptations to the cold European climate of the ice age. Their short, stocky bodies were necessary for the conservation of heat. A broad nose helped them to warm the cold air more efficiently. Prominent brow ridges probably helped to shield the sun’s reflection in their snowy environment.
Not only did Neandertals use their body shape to conserve heat, but they also had other methods of keeping warm. Their homes were on the insides of caves and they built tents for further protection from the cold. They used fire to keep warm but also to cook their food. These people wore pelts and skins from the large animals that they ate to also keep warm.
Neandertals had other adaptations as well. They did not have prominent chins, their cheek bones faces outward, and their foreheads slanted back. These characteristics probably accompanied the large cranial capacity with an occipital bun. Neandertal’s cranial capacity was somewhere between 1270cc and 1750cc. (Modern human’s cranial capacity ranges from 1300cc to 1500cc. But 20% of modern humans have a larger brain than the Neandertals.)
Even with these adaptations, Neandertals were very human-like. If seen today a male would appear to be a short, stocky (approximately 5’6") modern male. While Neandertals were a different subspecies, their adaptations are no more deviant than those adaptations of the Eskimo.
The large size of the cranial capacity might lead one to believe that Neandertals were smarter than modern man is, but this is probably not the case. Their large brain was developed in areas such as the occipital bun that are undeveloped in modern humans. Although these creatures were not as intelligent as we are, they were not the dimwitted, savage beasts that they were once thought to be. Evidence has been discovered to support the idea that Neandertals were quite intelligent.
Burial sites have been found that show that the dead had been placed there purposely. Pollen grains, various tools, and other objects surrounded the dead bodies. The pollen grains suggest that flowers were placed in the grave. The tools were probably thought to be needed in the afterlife. These practices show that the Neandertals had some religious belief and had some concept of the afterlife. It is also thought that the Neandertals possibly worshiped bears.
The Neandertals made advanced tools such as knives, scrapes, points, and blades. The quality and types of tools remained the same for several thousand years but became much more advanced some 40,000 years ago. This sudden change in the advancement of tools was probably an effort to compete with the more equipped Cro-Magnons. Even so, the tools made by these people required a high level of craftsmanship and mental as adept as modern humans.
Towards the end of their reign in Europe, during the time of the further advancement of tools, Neandertals were beginning to make art. Beads and pendants carved from bone were being produced. Some markings on the art suggest an understanding of nature. These artifacts show that the Neandertals possessed some artistic ability for abstraction, modeling, and manufacturing something other than tools and were possibly expanding their symbolic potential.
Along with making art Neandertals were making music. A Neandertal flute made out of bear bone was found and is the oldest known musical instrument. The flute is known to have had four holes that were carved by a carnivore tooth. The positioning of the holes suggests that the Neandertals were using a do-re-mi scale.
Neandertals organized their hunts, which indicates a high level of social organization and some level of communication. They hunted the large herds of animals that thrived in the cold region of Europe. Their hunts would consist of two groups of hunters -- one group would be at the top of a cliff while the other would be at the bottom. The top group would run the herd off the edge of the cliff while the bottom group would be waiting to slaughter the animals.
While the Neandertals’ hunting was very organized, they lacked certain skills and abilities. They hunted in very close range because they had not yet developed the skill to hunt from afar. They also lacked the ability to anticipate future events that would allow them to take advantage of annual migrations.
Neandertals showed compassion too. Fossil evidence shows that an individual with a serious head wound healed because someone cared for it for a long period of time. They probably had some knowledge of herbal medicine with which they healed individuals.
Neandertals died out some 30,000 years ago. The exact reason for their extinction is uncertain though. There are several possibilities of what happened, but the actual cause is probably a combination of several events. What is almost certain is that modern humans probably played a role in their extinction.
The first possibility is that Neandertals were replaced by modern humans through natural selection. The modern humans were more advanced, intelligent, and equipped than the Neandertals.
The second possibility is that the Neandertals were too specialized for the warming climate. Neandertals were specialized humans for extreme living during the Ice Age. When the climate began to warm they were too set in their ways, both behaviorally and physically, to change.
Thirdly, the Neandertals could have died out through genocide. The modern humans and the Neandertals waged war and the modern humans won.
Fourthly, the Neandertals could have died out through interbreeding between the two subspecies. Classic Neandertal characteristics could have been blended with modern human characteristics and disappeared.
The fifth possibility is that the modern humans could have brought disease with them and killed the Neandertals. Just as Europeans brought diseases to the New World and killed off massive Indian populations that were not immune to the diseases, the modern humans could have killed of the Neandertals with their African diseases.
Interpretations of archeological evidence vary greatly. Because so little information is actually present, the basis for theories depends greatly on the interpreter. Many debates have evolved over the very "evidence" that I have just presented, and still people do not believe some of the information to be true. But there is no sure way of knowing how these people thought, behaved, and lived.
Art. [Online] Available http://www.thunder.indstate.edu/~ramanank/art.html, February 7,1999.
Date With Fate. [Online] Available http://www.iinet.net.au/~chawkins/fate.html, January 29,1999.
Holden, Constance. Arthropology: How Much Like Us Were the Neandertals?. [Online] Available http://cas.bellarmine.edu/tietjen/images/anthropology(HowMuchLikeUsWe reTheNeanderthals).html, February 7,1999.
Human Ancestors. Scientific American. W.H. Freeman and Company, San Fransisco, 1979.
Hunting and Diet. [Online] Available http://www.iinet.net.au/~chawkins/life.html, February 7, 1999.
Leakey, R. and Lewin, R. Origins, E.P. Dutton, New York, 1978.
Life With A Neanderthal. [Online] Available http://www.iinet.net.au/~chawkins/life.html, January 29, 1999.
Neanderthal Features. [Online] Available http://www.iinet.net.au/~chawkins/looking.html, February 7, 1999.
"Neandertals: The Dawn of Humans." January 1996 (2-35). National Geographic Interactive. Washington, D.C., 1996.