In praise of… Neanderthal man (we have all been guilty of defaming them as half-wits)

The Guardian ^ | 01/15/2010

[SeekAndFind]

It seems we have all been guilty of defaming Neanderthal man. Research by a team based at the University of Bristol suggests that, far from being a lumbering, witless no-hoper, he was capable, 50,000 years ago, of producing forms of cosmetic adornment and even of primitive jewellery. In 1985, finds in Murcia, Spain, had suggested that this might be so; and now an expedition led by Professor João Zilhão of Bristol has uncovered a shell which shows "a symbolic dimension in behaviour and thinking that cannot be denied". All of which suggests some decent equivalence with the hitherto far more highly rated early modern man a whole 10 millennia later. Palaeolithic archaeologists will not be alone in returning to their drawing boards. It has long been the practice in pubs and clubs and the media to use the word Neanderthal to condemn attitudes considered less than enlightened than one's own. Trade union leaders reluctant to take the advice of the Daily Mail or Daily Express have frequently found themselves assigned to this class. Sluggish footballers have come in for similar treatment. "It was a very, very worrying performance," one pundit wrote of a Republic of Ireland display against Cyprus last autumn, "with tactics that bordered on the Neanderthal." Primitive, uncivilised, ultraconservative, reactionary – all are offered as meanings of Neanderthal in current dictionaries. In the light of these latest findings, it would surely be Neanderthal (old meaning, of course) not to amend them now.

[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic is from 01/15/2010. Thanks SeekAndFind. Not a ping, just adding to the keyword.

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]

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