Lecture Notes: Neandertals and Archaic Homo sapiens[snip] ...at Neandertal sites we find both manganese dioxide and red ochre. These natural pigments are found as nodules that have been scraped to produce pigment powder to be mixed with oils and applied to a surface (e.g., one/s body). We also see nodules of these pigments shaped into crayons for use in drawing images. We also see carved and engraved bone and ivory, sometimes smeared with ochre. These non-utilitarian objects are clearly symbols -- standing for some thing, probably an idea or concept (e.g., luck). Recently, we have even found evidence for music making among the Neandertals in the form of a fragment of a bone flute. So evidence for abstract thought among Neandertals is found in the practice of burial of the dead (implying belief in an afterlife and the continuity of the person/s affiliation with the group even after death) and in the present of symbolic art objects. [/snip]
Ariane Pinson, Ph.D.
That headline is racist.
Or homonyms you zing I earn ox-eyed.
So easy even a caveman can do it.
“at Neandertal sites we find both manganese dioxide and red ochre. These natural pigments are found as nodules that have been scraped to produce pigment powder to be mixed with oils and applied to a surface (e.g., one/s body).”
Uh.... Cavewomen wore lipstick. What a surprise. They’ll probably find ground up cockroaches (eyeliner) as well.
Without a written language and a longer life span, it must have been difficult to pass forward knowledge to new generations. Given that difference between modern man and pre-history, there may not have been a lot of difference between us. We are what we are because of thousands of years of knowledge passed forward.
The foot-powered automobile and other Hanna-Barbara conveniences notwithstanding, my anthropology professor told us that the Neanderthals looked remarkably like Fred Flintstone...
I believe Neaderthals were contemplative if nothing else.
Atheists bury their dead too. It's pretty hard to have tribal religious beliefs without a language and rituals to share them. The evidence is not strong. This type of one-sided analysis is biased speculation.