Thanks blam.
Posted on 09/01/2014 10:46:10 AM PDT by blam
FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press
Monday, September 1, 2014
BERLIN (AP) — A series of lines scratched into rock in a cave near the southwestern tip of Europe could be proof that Neanderthals were more intelligent and creative than previously thought.
The cross-hatched engravings inside Gorham's Cave in Gibraltar are the first known examples of Neanderthal rock art, according to a team of scientists who studied the site. The find is significant because it indicates that modern humans and their extinct cousins shared the capacity for abstract expression.
The study, released Monday by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined grooves in a rock that had been covered with sediment. Archaeologists had previously found artifacts associated with Neanderthal culture in the overlying layer, suggesting that the engravings must be older, said Clive Finlayson, one of the study's authors.
"It is the last nail in the coffin for the hypothesis that Neanderthals were cognitively inferior to modern humans," said Paul Tacon, an expert in rock art at Australia's Griffith University. Tacon, who was not involved in the study, said the research showed that the engravings were made with great effort for ritual purposes, to communicate with others, or both.
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Thanks blam.
I’ll have the roast duck with the mango salsa.
We never got any respect!
First paragraph incorrectly states they are our ancestors.
No it doesn’t, so what is your problem?
Why are you making stuff up?
Did they put a date on these scratch marks? Some time ago I saw cross hatched marks on an oblong stone from a cave in southern africa that I think they said was around 80,000 years old and homo sapien in origin. Anyone have that reference?
Homo sapiens was in Africa 80000 years ago. European Homo sapiens with Neanderthal DNA would most likely not be in Africa.
Yes, that is what I indicated in my comment. Scientists thought they were homo sapiens caves in southern africa.
They corrected their error. Are you the author?
Ancestors to cousins. You’re welcome.
I never saw the word “ancestors”, which is clearly incorrect.
“Cousins” is a bit of literary license, informally OK.
“Kissing cousins” is maybe taking license too far... ;-)
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