Bones discovered could reveal behaviour of extinct relatives

Telegraph ^ | Friday, October 10, 2014 | Leon Siciliano

[SunkenCiv]

Pre neanderthal bones 200,000 years old have been discovered on a building site, and could shed light on every day behaviour of our extinct relatives

It is thought that these pre neanderthal bones could shed light on the everyday behaviour of our closest extinct relative.

They were discovered in Northern France by chance on a building site and it is though the arm bones could be as much as 200,000 years old.

It is a rare find, only 12 other sites in Europe have discovered such significant archeological remains. The bones are of particular scientific interest because they hint at the behaviour of our neanderthal ancestors.

[GeronL]

Scandinavian Nanderthal?

[BroJoeK]

GeronL: "Scandinavian Nanderthal?"

Hearty as they were, even Neanderthals couldn't live on ice-sheets. ;-)

[zeestephen]

What is the earliest date for any kind of hominid remains found in Europe?

How does that compare with the earliest dates for hominid remains in the Middle East and Asia?

Are there any distinct hominid species that cannot be traced back to Africa?

[zeestephen]

What bones make up the tank treads?

They look too small and too numerous for hand or foot bones.

And what’s that braided, 45 degree angle bone on the front of the tank?

[zeestephen]

Sorry, Joe.

The northern boundary of the Neanderthal world crosses southern Denmark, and Denmark is Scandinavian.

[BroJoeK]

zeestephen: "What is the earliest date for any kind of hominid remains found in Europe?"

The earliest hominid remains in western Europe were found in Spain and dated to 1.2 million years ago -- known as homo antecestor.

zeestephen: "How does that compare with the earliest dates for hominid remains in the Middle East and Asia?"

The oldest hominid found outside Africa is a form of homo erectus 1.8 million years old, found in the Republic of Georgia.

zeestephen: "Are there any distinct hominid species that cannot be traced back to Africa?"

No, though some have attempted to interpret the data to suggest separate evolutions in other locations, such as Asia.
The current explanation suggests wave after wave of pre-human "latest models" migrating out of Africa, adapting, evolving, sometimes interbreeding with previous "models", more often exterminating them.

The most recent migrations out of Africa, of our biologically "fully human" ancestors, began circa 50,000 years ago, resulting in extinction-or-merging of all previous pre-human populations.

[BroJoeK]

zeestephen: "The northern boundary of the Neanderthal world crosses southern Denmark, and Denmark is Scandinavian."

Sure, but note that the northernmost Neanderthal sites actually found are in northern Germany, not Denmark.
Of course, it's reasonable to speculate that Neanderthals might have wandered across today's border in search of game, especially in the summertime.
But until/unless major Neanderthal sites are reported from Denmark, that still just makes them tourists in Scandinavia, not citizens... ;-)

[zeestephen]

Thanks - that’s excellent information, and a wonderfully exciting story.

For me, until recently, all of this was a completely disorganized jumble of strange names and big numbers.

And - only a question of time before Denmark loses its status as a Scandinavian country.

Norway and Sweden are sailing away at one or two inches per century.