Ancient footprints show Neanderthals may have been taller than thought

New Scientist ^ | 9 September 2019 | Alison George

[SunkenCiv]

The 257 fossil footprints were found in a coastal creek bed in Le Rozel in northern France. They were made around 80,000 years ago and preserved in sandy mud. Most of the footprints were from children and may show that Neanderthals could have been taller than previously thought.

"The discovery of so many Neanderthal footprints at one site is extraordinary," says Isabelle de Groote at Liverpool John Moores University, who was not involved with the study.

Before this, only nine Neanderthal footprints were known, from 4 different sites, says Jérémy Duveau of the MuséumNational d'Histoire Naturelle in France, who led the team that carried out the analysis. "Footprints are very interesting because they give a snapshot of a moment of life of hominins such as Neanderthals, and allow us to estimate the size and composition of the group that made them." This kind of information is hard to obtain from other archaeological artefacts such as skeletons and tools.

Although the researchers can't be certain that the 80,000-year old footprints at Le Rozel were made by Neanderthals, as no hominin skeletal remains were found at the site, Neanderthals were the only known hominins in Europe at that time - Homo sapiens arrived some 35,000 years later.

The footprints of Neanderthals are wider than those of modern humans because their feet were broader. From the size of the Le Rozel footprints, the researchers could estimate the size of the individual who made them, and then infer their age.

[SunkenCiv]

IOW, the following excerpt is just some more master race bull****:

The reconstruction of 27 complete human limb bones found in Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) has helped to determine the height of various species of the Pleistocene era. Homo heidelbergensis, like Neanderthals, were similar in height to the current population of the Mediterranean...

The humans who arrived in Europe during the Upper Palaeolithic era, Cro-Magnons or anatomically modern humans, replaced the Neanderthal populations. They were significantly taller than other human species and their average height for both sexes was higher, falling in the very tall individual category.

Height remained the same for some 2 million years.

According to the researchers, putting aside the margin corresponding to small biotype species like Homo habilis (East Africa), Homo georgicus (Georgia) and Homo floresiensis (Flores in Indonesia), all documented humans during the Early and Middle Pleistocene Era that inhabited Africa (Homo ergaster, Homo rhodesiensis), Asia (Homo erectus) and Europe (Homo antecessor, Homo heidelbergensis and Homo neanderthalensis) seemed to have medium and above-medium heights for the most part of two millions years. However, the researchers state that "amongst every population we have found a tall or very tall individual."

In their opinion, this suggests that the height of the Homo genus remained more or less stable for 2 million years until the appearance of a "ground-breaking species in this sense" in Africa just 200,000 years ago. These were the Homo sapiens, who were initially significantly taller than any other species that existed at the time.

June 6, 2012 | ScienceDaily | Homo heidelbergensis was only slightly taller than the Neanderthal

[SunkenCiv]

KEYWORDS: neandertal; neandertals; neanderthal; neanderthals

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]

[antidemoncrat]

A scientific breakthrough or just another study the result of which is more study needed?

[mountainlion]

What if it was a baby bigfoot?

[SunkenCiv]

Here are the other GGG topics introduced since the previous Digest ping:

• Ancient Mosaic Found in 'Burnt Church' May Depict Miracle Described in the New Testament
• Dissecting the true age of Old Tom Parr
• Groundbreaking study: Ancient tin ingots found in Israel were mined in England
• Israeli Researchers Identify Biblical Kingdom of Edom
• Keezhadi excavations: Sangam era older than previously thought, finds study [India]
• Long-lost 13th-century painting found hanging in woman's kitchen
• Mysterious megastructures of the elusive Tripolye culture unearthed in Ukraine
• Neanderthals may have been wiped out by EAR INFECTIONS: Scientists say complications of the common..
• Once Considered 'Simple,' the Ancient Edomites Were Actually Tech Geniuses
• Pictish skeleton found at 1,400-year-old Highland cemetery
• Vikings probably hunted Iceland's walruses to extinction for ivory

[SunkenCiv]

Is it even possible? Yes, it is.

[frank ballenger]

Georgio Tsoukalos picture....

Would he have the guts to report it on Ancient Aliens if the Neanderthal reconstruction by computer makes an exact lookalike of Jerry Nadler before he lost weight?

Doubt it.

[Grimmy]

What if it was a baby bigfoot?

*****

Exactly!

And look at the pic. The foot print looks like the foot that made it has that hinge or whatever where we have the instep just like Bigfoot.

Someone call those guys and tell them unless they pay us 20% of all grants from this day forward, we’re gonna out them as Bigfoot researchers and thereby ensure they never get another research grant ever again.

[null and void]

Why not? Put a coat and tie on most reconstructions

and it could easily be one of our betters.

[frank ballenger]

Just living off his pretty boy looks. No real talent.

[Verginius Rufus]

The article says the average Neanderthal was between 150 and 160 centimeters tall. Translated into American, that's 5 ft. to 5 ft. 4. They now think some may have been as tall as 175 centimeters which is 5 ft. 10 inches.

Since they found the footprints at the beach, maybe they can't say whether the Neanderthals always went barefoot or only when they were at the beach.

[ameribbean expat]

Did one of those genome study thingies, came back with 92% more Neanderthal than other participants in their database. Comments of all women I’ve ever dated confirmed.

[Openurmind]

Can you believe this heresy? Next thing you know these scientists will be trying to say they didn’t walk hunched over like monkeys and actually verbally communicated rather than just grunting at each other.

Oh wait... lol

[null and void]

If he had any talent, he could be a Charles Bronson or Danny Trujillo.

[wildbill]

Or maybe they are evidence of the giant Nephalim that roamed the earth, including the giants of the burial mounds in W.Virgina dug up by the Smithsonian long ago. or Big Feet or Hobbits for that matter.

There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy [science].

[pepsi_junkie]

I don’t understand this. If they have complete neanderthal skeletons (and they do) then they can (and have) measured exactly how tall they are. Unless what they are really saying is that they STOOD taller with a longer stride and had previously assumed they slumped around like gorillas. But if that’s what they beleived then every representation of neanderthals in every museum I’ve been in was lying because they show the neanderthals walking around fully upright.

[bgill]

Dad, mom, grandma, the kids and a couple of cousins all went to the beach for a little vacay.

[frank ballenger]

Charles Bronson, of Blessed Memory.

I forgot I used to watch an old TV series Man With a Camera. No in crime show bargain dvds and entire series available. He had talent and was in early movies for drive-n audiences such as Jules Verne’s Master of the World with Vincent Price (also of Blessed Memory).

We should all watch Death Wish and others now that you mentioned him here.

Except the women being brutalized always makes me too upset for too long and spoils the rest of the first movie. As I say with Holocaust scenes in history documentaries-—too infuriating for me but good that others can be educated by seeing that.

[SunkenCiv]

"Of course truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense" -- Mark Twain

(unless it's the fiction of the DNC, of course)

[SunkenCiv]

That's a good point about footwear -- probably fossil footprints exist, but are uniformly ignored as modern. :^)