Posted on 05/02/2008 3:01:53 PM PDT by blam
Neandertals Had Big Mouths, Gaped Widely
Mati Milstein in Tel Aviv, Israel
for National Geographic News
May 2, 2008
Neandertals had big mouths that they were able to open unusually wide, new research has determined.
A recent study found that a combination of facial structure, forward-positioned molars, and an unusually large gap between the vertical parts of the back of the jaw allowed Neandertals (also spelled Neanderthals) to gape widely.
Modern humans and our direct ancestors don't have these traits, the researchers note. But the team was unable to measure exactly how far Neandertals could open their mouths.
"This ability is connected to the length of the muscle fibers, which, of course, we don't have," said study co-author Yoel Rak, a professor of anatomy at Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine.
Rak and colleague William Hylander, an expert on jaw biomechanics at Duke University, presented their findings last month at a meeting of the Paleoanthropology Society in Vancouver, Canada.
The scientists believe the large space behind Neandertals' molars created a geometry that allowed them to take extremely large bites.
This is perhaps an adaptation to the size of the food Neandertals ate, the researchers said, although they caution that the exact reason for the wide gape remains an enigma.
"Why were they able to do this?" Rak asked. "This is something that only a time machine could help us answer."
Skull Evolution
Neandertals lived in parts of Europe and Asia for more than 400,000 years, then disappeared some 30,000 years ago.
The omnivorous species had an extremely varied diet—from vegetation to reindeer—and they knew how to butcher and cook meat.
"They didn't have to put a whole [animal] leg in their mouths," noted Alan Mann, a physical anthropologist at Princeton University who did not participate in the new research.
"I would suspect that the Neandertals were probably as adept as we are in cutting their food into manageable sizes," he said.
Mann believes a large mouth structure may not have been exclusive to Neandertals but was also present in earlier human species.
Instead of eating habits, the change in gape size may be due more to the evolution of the skull: as the braincase expanded, the face moved under it, he said.
"What has changed is the architecture that we begin to see in modern humans, where the face and the braincase have different kinds of structural relationships," he said.
"This has produced a change in our ability to open our mouths."
Unless I am mistaken, Neanderthals were not in our direct line of descent, not our ancestors. Distant cousins, perhaps, but not our own line.
Priceless!
In re Joachim Neuman/Neander...
Another Joachim had a valley named after him, in what is now the Czech Republic. We use a derivation of his valley’s name every day.
Joachim->Joachimthal->thaler->dollar.
...great minds think alike... ;’)
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
The San Joaquin valley in California is named after another Joachim.
okay, they show up in a Google news search for “archaeology”, and FR doesn’t?!?
Constitutional Danger in the State Taking of Children from Parents
John Birch Society, WI - 9 minutes ago
http://www.jbs.org/node/7957
Father loses custody of son over lemonade
WZZM 13 Website | 4-28-08 | Brian Dickerson
Posted on 04/28/2008 8:00:02 AM PDT by mombyprofession
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2008052/posts
Ann Arbor Man’s “Mistake” At Ballpark Separates Him From Son
http://www.mlive.com/
Posted on 04/28/2008 6:10:57 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2008406/posts
You don’t know Gene Simmons from KISS?
Carly looks the best ever in that video. I forgot how much I love that song!
They aren’t even the same species. Does that constitute ‘cousin’ when referring to animal relations? Is a wolf and dog the same species? Don’t know, just pondering.
|
|
|||
Gods |
Thanks Blam. |
||
|
· Mirabilis · Texas AM Anthropology News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · · History or Science & Nature Podcasts · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists · |
|||
I heard him once on an NPR interview (coming on to Terri Garr), but have never seen the band, since I’m a 50s-60s R&R product.
Quite the tongue, eh?
I recall reading that dogs and wolves cannot be distinguished genetically.
Yes, his tongue is legendary. His son inherited it as well.
I have loved KISS from a little kid. We watch the Family Jewels quite a bit and his kids are absolute dears. I hope my kids grow up so well adjusted. Of course he is a staunch Republican who took his daughter to military hospitals to show her what ‘real people’ do. Seems like a good guy with a sex addiction that he concedes himself. He dated Cher, Diana Ross and is with Shannon Tweed and has been for 20 years now. He had a cartoon my kids loved called My Dad is a Rock Star or something and he thought of it when his son had a ‘what my dad does’ day and he took in a poster of that picture you commented on. Yeah, that is something you expect at the show off your dad day, hehe.
Mick & Steven: the missing links...
I’ve never seen or heard them play. Maybe I should visit YouTube and check them out. Do you have any suggestions for some selections of their music, since you are a fan?
(Will I have to put the cats down the basement when it plays?)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.