Posted on 01/15/2010 6:13:45 PM PST by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
“we”, he must have a mouse in his pocket. I never did.
Ping
I’d make a snarky comment here about my Ex-Husband...but that would be TOO easy, LOL!
The folks at Geico must be feeling really bad about now.
Ewwww, Diana! You just took the words off my fingertips!
This could end the, “So easy a Neanderthal could do it” commercial series before it starts.
GOP ad: Neanderthals........smarter than Democrats.
What? When were you married to him? I had him from ‘85-’92, LOL!
Feh! We’re ALL married to the same ‘man.’ They just change their hair and eye color to temporarily fool us. ;)
You mistake my use of the term “islamderthal” for my use of the term “neanderthal”. And yes, islamderthals are half wits.
‘We’ didn’t wear the makeup, we made it for our wives to look good.
The jewelry was for our mistresses so they didn’t feel left out on holidays.
" The folks at Geico must be feeling really bad about now. "
LOL!
Wow, that didn’t take long.
And Martha Coakley says “hey, dumb@ss, what about Neanderthal Woman? Doesn’t she count?”
As it turns out, these early Vikings fans were bilingual,
enjoyed a good brandy and Cuban cigar... we just don’t give
them credit!
Poor caveman. He’s not making much progress with his analyst.
I’ve been called lots of things, but I don’t remember ‘half-wit’ being one of them.
Oh well.
He actually had a larger brain than Homo sapiens. It averaged around 1600 cc versus Homo sapien’s average of 1350 cc.
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