Posted on 12/15/2006 3:28:42 PM PST by 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.
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GGG Ping.
Finally an explanation for the French.
Doh!
Thanks for posting this. Interesting, as usual.
The Neandertal EnigmaFrayer'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]
by James Shreeve
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Thus the origin of the phrase "The South's gonna rise again!"
There is no explanation for the French.
[warning: obvious joke follows] Explains why Neandertal remains are starting to turn up in Britain...
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?
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