Posted on 05/15/2012 11:00:12 AM PDT by Theoria
Over 20,000 years ago, humans won the evolutionary battle against Neanderthals. They may have had some assistance in that from their best friends.
One of the most compelling -- and enduring -- mysteries in archaeology concerns the rise of early humans and the decline of Neanderthals. For about 250,000 years, Neanderthals lived and evolved, quite successfully, in the area that is now Europe. Somewhere between 45,000 and 35,000 years ago, early humans came along.
They proliferated in their new environment, their population increasing tenfold in the 10,000 years after they arrived; Neanderthals declined and finally died away.
What happened? What went so wrong for the Neanderthals -- and what went so right for us humans?
The cause, some theories go, may have been environmental, with Neanderthals' decline a byproduct of -- yikes -- climate change. It may have been social as humans developed the ability to cooperate and avail themselves of the evolutionary benefits of social cohesion. It may have been technological, with humans simply developing more advanced tools and hunting weapons that allowed them to snare food while their less-skilled counterparts starved away.
The Cambridge researchers Paul Mellars and Jennifer French have another theory, though. In a paper in the journal Science, they concluded that "numerical supremacy alone may have been a critical factor" in human dominance -- with humans simply crowding out the Neanderthals. Now, with an analysis in American Scientist, the anthropologist Pat Shipman is building on their work. After analyzing the Mellars and French paper and comparing it with the extant literature, Shipman has come to an intriguing conclusion: that humans' comparative evolutionary fitness owes itself to the domestication of dogs.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
This “Article” is pure TRIPE!
Leftist academia is allergic to two fundamental characteristics of man: war and religion. Dogs are mostly useful as an early warning to an impending raid. Humans are especially smelly and dogs can easily smell two legged threats coming. The key competitive advantage Cro-Magnon man had over Neanderthals was religion, which both unifies a culture and makes warriors fearless and unshakably optimistic. The Neanderthals were not religious. Religion is an overwhelming competitive advantage in tribal warfare.
Yep Noah, his wife and 3 sons and their wives and LOTS of animals and NO others.
Cro-Magnon moms filled schoolkids` lunchboxs with junk food.
There were others. I was talking about the sons of Anak.
All mankind, less true Africans, have more than a smattering of Neanderthal DNA in them.
I’d say they were just another variety of humans and bred into the population.
Also, for the record, Neaderthals were likely smarter than the average homo sapien, with larger brains. Stronger, too.
This is actually my true opinion. I never did understand why some many anthropologists were so eageer to designate them as a distinct species, unable to breed with modern humans, on what seemed to me to ve very little evidence. Or maybe I do.
Homo sapiens could outrun a neanderthal. Neanderthals would have a strength advantage, but modern humans could attack with projectile weapons and run out of reach. H. sap had atlatls and perhaps bows 50,000 years ago.
Constant warfare was the way of life for most primitive societies.
Our ancestors probably ATE the neanderthals.
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| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
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Thanks Theoria.To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.The Neandertal EnigmaFrayer's own reading of the record reveals a number of overlooked traits that clearly and specifically link the Neandertals to the Cro-Magnons. One such trait is the shape of the opening of the nerve canal in the lower jaw, a spot where dentists often give a pain-blocking injection. In many Neandertal, the upper portion of the opening is covered by a broad bony ridge, a curious feature also carried by a significant number of Cro-Magnons. But none of the alleged 'ancestors of us all' fossils from Africa have it, and it is extremely rare in modern people outside Europe." [pp 126-127] |
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That's for darn sure. My Golden doesn't have to whimper, or bark. He just gazes at a person with big brown eyes and people give him a treat. The same works in reverse. Catch his eye, and he will immediately sit and get another treat. Not a sound is passed between us.
In fact, a guy might even choose his dog over his girl. :-))
Maybe they can help us beat the Muslims too.
Haven’t you ever seen the movie, ‘It’s A Neanderthal Christmas’?
The meat rendering scene is so touching.
“Living under the cloud of Israel’s cruel apartheid” was the bogus headline. Thanks BenLurkin.
Whoops.
As it stands, thanks to Neandertal, we’re Cro Magnon Mignon. :’)
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