The scientific consensus regarding neanderthals is that they’re a distinct cousin of humans that died out ~30,000 years ago. However, there is still a lot of debate concerning these facts. How distinct were they? Were they different enough to be considered a separate species or were they just a sub-species of human? Did they die … Continue reading »
Filed under Neanderthals …
Neanderthals didn’t wear shoes
A while a go I wrote about how it seems that humans and neanderthals were wearing hard soled shoes frequently by the Upper Palaeolithic (~50-15 thousand years ago). They worked this out by looking at their foot bones and seeing if they had changed in a manner consistent with wearing shoes. By that date their … Continue reading »
Caring neanderthals
In The Descent of Man Charles Darwin laid out his thoughts regarding humans. At length he discussed our nature, behaviour and evolution. But of all he had observed around the world one aspect of humanity stood out to him as the “noblest.” The aid which we feel impelled to give to the helpless is mainly … Continue reading »
The earliest artistic neanderthals?
Modern humans are almost defined by their behaviours, making the development of modern behaviour a fundamental turning point in the origin of us. It’s when we stopped being hominins and started being humans. Actually, that’s a lie: we’re technically still hominins, that’s just a pithy – if factually vacuous – statement to convey the importance … Continue reading »
Neanderthals had differently organised brains
Homo neanderthalensis is not a species to be dismissed lightly. They weren’t especially dumb, nor especially weak. Indeed, they actually had larger brains and denser muscles than we did. On top of that, their technology was so well adapted to their environment that they were able to flourish without drastically altering it for hundreds of … Continue reading »
The problem with defining our ancestors
Almost every paper on human evolution commences with an obligatory paragraph about how these particular scientists are defining the species in question. “Today we’re calling Homo erectus outside of Africa Homo ergaster,” they’ll say and you accept that and it’s all well and good. But then the next paper will turn around and say “Homo … Continue reading »
Last neanderthals NOT found near the Arctic?
I previously discussed an article which suggested that the last members of Homo neanderthalensis retreated north into Russia prior to their eventual extinction. This conclusion was based upon the discovery of Mousterian tools – an industry produced by the neanderthals – at Byzovaya. However, although I concluded my tale of these northern neanderthals it would … Continue reading »
Neanderthals had differently shaped brains
By all accounts Homo neanderthalensis should’ve driven Homo sapiens extinct. They had larger brains, stronger muscles and thicker bones. Yet we are the only species of Homo alive in the world today, creating one of the most puzzling aspects of recent human evolution. How did we beat the neanderthals? Answering this question is made even … Continue reading »
Last neanderthals found near the Arctic
The facts of this post are currently disputed It’s Europe, 48,000 years ago and things are not going well for Homo neanderthalensis. A deteriorating climate in Central Europe forced both them and the newly arrived Homo sapiens to abandon almost the entire continent. They retreated in Spain whilst we returned to the Middle East. When … Continue reading »
