Neanderthals' Tough Stone AgeLives

Science News ^ | 12-16-2006 | Bruce Bower

[blam]

Neandertals' tough Stone Age lives

Bruce Bower

Neandertals that 43,000 years ago inhabited what's now northern Spain faced periodic food shortages and possibly resorted to cannibalism to survive, according to a new investigation.

CAVE FINDS. A block of sand and clay from El Sidrón cave in Spain holds Neandertal foot bones (left) and ribs and a backbone (right). Rosas

These Neandertals evolved shorter, broader faces with a less pronounced slope than northern European Neandertals did, say Antonio Rosas of the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid and his colleagues.

Since 2000, the researchers have recovered more than 1,300 Neandertal bones and teeth from an underground-cave system known as El Sidrón. The fossils come from at least eight individuals, including one infant, one child, two adolescents, and four young adults.

Close examination of the ancient teeth revealed disturbances of enamel formation, especially in the children and teens, that Rosas and his coworkers attribute to near starvation. The team reports its results online for an upcoming Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Furthermore, skulls and limb bones at El Sidrón display cut marks suggestive of butchering and show crushed areas, presumably where brains and marrow were removed during cannibalism, the scientists say.

In another analysis, they compared three Neandertal jaws from the site with jaws from 32 Neandertals and 23 modern Homo sapiens previously found at Stone Age sites throughout Europe and western Asia. Reconstructions of the lower faces indicate that Neandertals evolved into northern and southern varieties, the team claims.

If you have a comment on this article that you would like considered for publication in Science News, send it to editors@sciencenews.org. Please include your name and location.

[blam]

GGG Ping.

[Virulas]

Finally an explanation for the French.

[alicewonders]

Finally an explanation for this:

[CroakerJoe]

[CroakerJoe]

Doh!

[zot]

Thanks for posting this. Interesting, as usual.

[SunkenCiv]

a tall glass of the usual, please:

The Neandertal Enigma
by James Shreeve

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]

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Blam.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.

Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

[shuckmaster]

Reconstructions of the lower faces indicate that Neandertals evolved into northern and southern varieties, the team claims.

Thus the origin of the phrase "The South's gonna rise again!"

[chesley]

There is no explanation for the French.

[redheadtoo]

the opening of the nerve canal in the lower jaw, a spot where dentists often give a pain-blocking injection. In many Neanderthal, the upper portion of the opening is covered by a broad bony ridge

At last, we know the reason for the extinction of the Neanderthal, inappropriate dental care!

[SunkenCiv]

[warning: obvious joke follows] Explains why Neandertal remains are starting to turn up in Britain...

[redheadtoo]

I met a couple of my British cousins about thirty years ago. They were a pair of very sweet old ladies with horrible teeth. Does this mean the Brits are in danger of extinction?