The question then is is it a sign of common lineage or a trait that developed seperately, probably as an adaptation to cold weather.Really, a bony ridge is an adaptation to cold weather? Hmm, I wonder...
Neanderthal Man 'never walked in northern Europe'Work by the flamboyant Professor Reiner Protsch von Zieten showed that Neanderthal Man existed in northern Europe. Calculations on skeletal remains found at Hahnofersand, near Hamburg, stated they were 36,000 years old. Yet recent research at Oxford University's carbon-dating laboratory has suggested that they date back a mere 7,500 years. By that time, Homo sapiens was already well-established and the Neanderthals were extinct. Chris Stringer, a Stone Age specialist and head of human origins at London's Natural History Museum, said: "What was considered a major piece of evidence showing that the Neanderthals once lived in northern Europe has fallen by the wayside. We are having to rewrite prehistory." ...Now, however, important remains that Oxford scientists no longer believe are prehistoric include the female "Bischof-Speyer" skeleton, found near the south-west German town of Speyer with unusually good teeth. Their evidence suggests that she is 3,300 years old, not 21,300. Another apparent misdating involved an allegedly prehistoric skull discovered near Paderborn in 1976 and considered the oldest human remain ever found in the region. Prof von Zieten dated the skull at 27,400 years old. The latest research, however, indicates that it belonged to an elderly man who died around 1750.
by Tony Paterson
August 22, 2004
Heavy brow ridges would probably protect the eyes from severe winter weather. From recent FR postings I have come to the conclusion that Neanderthals were mostly blue eyed redheads, which was the coloring most sensitive to the production of Vitamin D in the skin in a severe cold weather situation. Africans moving north were not really able to thrive until the appearance of the blond gene which also favors Vitamin D formation. Good Vit. D, good bones, good pelvis structure, successful childbirth, and the smarter guys win.
Long ago, I strongly suspected that my husband had Neanderthal genes. Scottish ancestry, pale blue eyes, red hair, heavy brow, receeding chin, massive bones, short legs, long torso, and a warrior temperment. Now I am virtually certain. He died recently from Alzheimer's Disease, and I have a hypothesis about that.
I am calling the Alz. gene(s) the "altruist gene", because it would cause a person with it to wander off looking for food and not make it back, leaving more food for the young, and favoring their survival. I noticed that my husband would excape out the front door when he was hungry and I was in the kitchen trying to get a quick dinner on the table. I have theorized that in stable, warm settled communities that there should not be as great an incidence of Alz., but that it would be more common in outpost societies with severe climate and food scarcity. I looked for studies on the incidence of Alz. and found one study in south India, and another in a major African city that has existed for a long time. The incidence of Alz. in those places was about 1/4 that of the US. A study of Alz. among Blacks in Cleveland showed a similar frequency to the rest of the US. Many slaves were captured from small village in the jungle, where survival conditions were probably more severe than in large African towns.
The finding of human presence along the arctic ocean around 26,000 ya is not surprising, there are also finds from 32,000ya. They have recently discovered that major painted caves in Europe date from 32,000ya, not 24,000ya as previously believed. Actually temperatures had leveled off during those years, and then dropped rapidly until 18,000ya when the glaciers started to melt.