Neanderthals shared about 99.84 per cent of their DNA with us (Image: Action Press/Rex Features)
Posted on 01/21/2012 5:48:42 AM PST by SunkenCiv
Palaeoanthropologists now know a great deal about these ice-age Europeans who flourished between 200,000 and 30,000 years ago. We know, for example, that Neanderthals shared about 99.84 per cent of their DNA with us, and that we and they evolved separately for several hundred thousand years. We also know Neanderthal brains were a bit larger than ours and were shaped a bit differently. And we know where they lived, what they ate and how they got it.
Skeletal evidence shows that Neanderthal men, women and children led very strenuous lives, preoccupied with hunting large mammals. They often made tactical use of terrain features to gain as much advantage as possible, but administered the coup de grace with thrusting spears. Based on their choice of stone for tools, we know they almost never travelled outside small home territories that were rarely over 1000 square kilometres.
The Neanderthal style of hunting often resulted in injuries, and the victims were often nursed back to health by others. But few would have survived serious lower body injuries, since individuals who could not walk might well have been abandoned. It looks as if Neanderthals had well-developed way-finding and tactical abilities, and empathy for group members, but also that they made pragmatic decisions when necessary.
Looking closely at the choices Neanderthals made when they manufactured and used tools shows that they organised their technical activities much as artisans, such as blacksmiths, organise their production. Like blacksmiths, they relied on "expert" cognition, a form of observational learning and practice acquired through apprenticeship that relies heavily on long-term procedural memory.
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
Neanderthals shared about 99.84 per cent of their DNA with us (Image: Action Press/Rex Features)
“...we know...”
No, you’re guessing with a tiny bit of evidence.
...we know they almost never travelled outside small home territories that were rarely over 1000 square kilometres.It used to be "known" that they didn't eat fish at all, but during the past two years all of a sudden, "fish was an important part of the Neandertal diet". It's very, very important to some people to deny that Neandertal is ancestral to much of the modern world, and this article is written by someone who does that, right after pointing out how very similar Neandertal behavior was to ours.
The wheel was invented the first time someone saw a rock roll down a hill...but alas, the observer was killed in the landslide so it wasn't until his 8th cousin, 23 times removed saw the same thing and lived to invent the wheel.
His younger brother invented the unicycle, left his wife and went off to do the hot blonde in cave No. 37.
The hot blonde stole the unicycle and went off to Cave No. 28 where the priest lived and confessed her sin. For her penance, she had to donate the unicycle to the church and the priest enjoyed his Sunday rides.
You probably think this is all made up but we have the unicyle at our little museum in the Village. Hoe's that for evidence!!
|
|
|
| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
|
|
Erratum: in addition to author Thomas Wynn, the article was also authored by Frederick L. Coolidge. |
|
|
|
|
How To Think Like a Neandertal
by Thomas Wynn
and Frederick L. Coolidge
for Kindle
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]
by James Shreeve
in local libraries
“The Neanderthal style of hunting often resulted in injuries, and the victims were often nursed back to health by others. But few would have survived serious lower body injuries, since individuals who could not walk might well have been abandoned. It looks as if Neanderthals had well-developed way-finding and tactical abilities, and empathy for group members, but also that they made pragmatic decisions when necessary.”
Obama-Romney care in Bedrock.
The genetic difference between us is inconsequential and I believe there is a tendency to MAGNIFY the differences between us by some scholars.
Also typical of the Neanderthal behavior was a willingness to employ the teachings of Karl Marx over and over again, despite the evidence that over and over, villages would decay and vanish after implementing Marx's systems.
Sorry, couldn't resist :)
“Obama-Romney care in Bedrock.”
I doubt there will be much empathy for group members in government health control.
Ah, yes, the stereotype of the Neanderthal bigot!!!!
They actually spent time wondering if neanderthals had a sense of humor?
“Knock, knock”
“We don’t have doors.”
They were angry people.
You mean they examined a FREEREPER....!
You mean they examined a FREEREPER....!
Speaking of pi ... I have an historical/cultural question. The ancients, of course, made a big deal out of pi, and several different cultures figured it out, apparently independently, to a surprising number of decimal places. My question is, what interested them in pi to begin with? Early mathematics arose mostly in the context of practical problem solving, and it's fairly easy to see why various calculations were developed. But what about pi? Am I overlooking some obvious Bronze Age problem that would have drawn attention to that particular ratio?
“Am I overlooking some obvious Bronze Age problem that would have drawn attention to that particular ratio? “
They needed it to figure out the area of the crop circles the ancient astronauts left when their ships landed to teach primitive man how to levitate giant stone blocks to build large structures.
I’m not sure how you hunt large animals - meaning bigger than deer - with spears, when your living group is five to ten people. That means two or three men at most. Maybe one man and a boy.
If you start sending women up against bison with a spear, your group isn’t going to have enough babies to sustain itself. If you lose one man, your group faces starvation.
lol!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
