Neanderthals used feathers as 'personal ornaments'

bbc ^ | 17 September 2012 | Paul Rincon

[BenLurkin]

Clive Finlayson and Kimberly Brown from the Gibraltar Museum, along with colleagues from Spain, Canada and Belgium, examined a database of 1,699 ancient sites across Eurasia, comparing data on birds at locations used by humans with those that were not.

They found a clear association between raptor and corvid remains and sites that had been occupied by humans.

They then looked more closely at bird bones found at Neanderthal sites in Gibraltar, including Gorham's and Vanguard cave, near the base of the rock: "The Neanderthals had cut through and marked the bones. But what were they cutting? We realised a lot of it was wing bones, particularly those holding large primary feathers," Prof Finlayson told BBC News.

Co-author Jordi Rosell, from Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona, Spain, said: "We saw the cut-marks on bird bones at one cave, and then started seeing them in others. I think it's a common aspect to the caves in this rock."

Juan Jose Negro, director of the Donana Biological Station in Seville, Spain, who is another co-author, said: ...

"The only explanation left is the use of those long feathers."

Not only this, but the ancient humans appeared to have a preference for birds with dark or black plumage. Species represented at the sites include ravens, crows, rooks, magpies, jackdaws, various types of eagle and vulture, red and black kites, kestrels and falcons.

...

Dr Negro cautioned that there was no way to tell how the feathers were put to use. But he observed: "Current uses of feathers typically involve the same species. If you think of the Plains Indians in North America, they put those feathers in headdresses and they are signalling. They are signalling power and status. Perhaps the Neanderthals were using feathers in the same way."

[blueunicorn6]

Ahhhhh.....sweet Felicia......she had a tattoos all over her body of national parks......you shoulda seen the Grand Canyon......it was majestic.....it made me cry......

[SunkenCiv]

The Neandertal Enigma
by James Shreeve
in local libraries

Frayer'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]

KEYWORDS: neandertal; neandertals; neanderthal; neanderthals

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks BenLurkin. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[null and void]

Bottom line: Can't see why this is such a reckoning.

Which creatures use artificial ornamentation on their own bodies?

[a fool in paradise]

Works for me.

[a fool in paradise]

Apparently the Bird of Paradise flew up his nose.

[a fool in paradise]

Maybe Neanderthal HAD feathers.

Not in the pictures I've seen.

[DManA]

I think you found a picture of the ANCESTORS of the Neanderthals.

[colorado tanker]

Don't forget Miss Sally Rand . . .

[SunkenCiv]

The portrayal of her doing that feather dance in “The Right Stuff” was one of the highlights of that film, still the best of the genre.

[null and void]

It was a serious question. Only humans decorate their own bodies as a means of attracting the opposite sex.

This means Homo neanderthalensis truly was a member of the human races.

[Towed_Jumper]

“Juan Jose Negro, director of the Donana Biological Station in Seville, Spain...”

“Juan Jose Negro?” ...now that’s some serious affirmitive action in action right there.