Top Ten Myths about Neanderthals

[Frank Robert]

Neanderthals are generally classified by palaeontologists as the species Homo neanderthalensis , but some consider them to be a subspecies of Homo sapiens ( Homo sapiens neanderthalensis ). The first humans with proto-Neanderthal traits are believed to have existed in Europe as early as 600,000–350,000 years ago, and they died out around 30,000 years ago.

When it comes to behaviors, Neanderthals tend to get a pretty bad rap. However, a plethora of research over the last several years has been breaking down many of the myths associated with this ancient species.

Once depicted as barbaric, grunting, sub-humans, Neanderthals are now known to have had the same or similar levels of intelligence as modern humans. They also had their own distinct culture. Here we examine 10 myths about Neanderthals which have now been proven false.

Myth 1: Neanderthal Tools were not as Good as Tools Made by Modern Humans ​

The predominant belief in mainstream archaeology over a decade ago was that Neanderthals only utilized very simplistic tools, like sharpened stones. However, research conducted over the last 10 years has revised this perspective based on new archaeological evidence....​

Myth 2: Neanderthals Spoke through Grunts and Animal Sounds ​

It was long believed that Neanderthals lacked the necessary cognitive capacity and vocal hardware for speech and language, rendering them incapable of little more than a series of grunts. However, recent research has revealed that Neanderthals most likely had a sophisticated form of speech and language not dissimilar to Homo sapiens ....​

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[AV1611VET]

Once depicted as barbaric, grunting, sub-humans, Neanderthals are now known to have had the same or similar levels of intelligence as modern humans.

I've been saying this for years here.

How is it I knew this, long before scientists knew it?

 

[Frank Robert]

I've been saying this for years here.

How is it I knew this, long before scientists knew it?

Déjà vu and prescience.

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[AV1611VET]

Déjà vu and prescience.

​

Sensus plenior.

 

[Tinker Grey]

homosexual neanderthalensis

Is your auto-correct working overtime?

 

[Hans Blaster]

Is your auto-correct working overtime?

It might be how they died out.

 

[Diamond72]

they died out around 30,000 years ago.

Exodus 23 makes it very clear what happened to them.
…28 I will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 29 I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out ahead of you until you become fruitful and possess the land.…
I realize the Bible is talking about the Hivites and Canaanites. But we have the same situation with the Neanderthals where the people coming up out of Africa gradually took their land over & their food supply.

 

[Warden_of_the_Storm]

Exodus 23 makes it very clear what happened to them.
…28 I will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 29 I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out ahead of you until you become fruitful and possess the land.…
I realize the Bible is talking about the Hivites and Canaanites. But we have the same situation with the Neanderthals where the people coming up out of Africa gradually took their land over & their food supply.

Except that we kind of don't since the extinction of the Neanderthals doesn't seem to be as cut and dry as "Homo Sapiens moved out of Africa and took over their resources".

 

[Diamond72]

Except that we kind of don't since the extinction of the Neanderthals doesn't seem to be as cut and dry as "homosexual Sapiens moved out of Africa and took over their resources".

That is the way science and evolution works. They use the term biodiverse ecosystem. There is a chapter on this in your biology book. Also, there are people that talk about the delicate balance of nature. We have a federal park here where the animals were almost all gone. Now that the area is being properly managed there is a lot more wild life there than before.

 

[Frank Robert]

Exodus 23 makes it very clear what happened to them.
…28 I will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 29 I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out ahead of you until you become fruitful and possess the land.…
I realize the Bible is talking about the Hivites and Canaanites. But we have the same situation with the Neanderthals where the people coming up out of Africa gradually took their land over & their food supply.

Some reordering of Exodus might make it clear for believers yet their is a profusion of physical evidence for Neanderthals but not so much for an Exodus.

 

[Warden_of_the_Storm]

That is the way science and evolution works. They use the term biodiverse ecosystem. There is a chapter on this in your biology book. Also, there are people that talk about the delicate balance of nature. We have a federal park here where the animals were almost all gone. Now that the area is being properly managed there is a lot more wild life there than before.

No bearing whatsoever on what I said.

 

[Hans Blaster]

Except that we kind of don't since the extinction of the Neanderthals doesn't seem to be as cut and dry as "Homo Sapiens moved out of Africa and took over their resources".

There were some notions circulating not that long ago that they just got absorbed into H. sapiens through interbreeding. Not sure where that idea is currently.

 

[Warden_of_the_Storm]

There were some notions circulating not that long ago that they just got absorbed into H. sapiens through interbreeding. Not sure where that idea is currently.

I think that one might still be considered to be in fashion during this time.

 

[Warden_of_the_Storm]

Proof that Neanderthals ate crabs is another 'nail in the coffin' for primitive cave dweller stereotypes​

In a cave just south of Lisbon, archaeological deposits conceal a Paleolithic dinner menu. As well as stone tools and charcoal, the site of Gruta de Figueira Brava contains rich deposits of shells and bones with much to tell us about the Neanderthals that lived there—especially about their meals. A study published in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology shows that 90,000 years ago, these Neanderthals were cooking and eating crabs.



"At the end of the Last Interglacial, Neanderthals regularly harvested large brown crabs," said Dr. Mariana Nabais of the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES-CERCA), lead author of the study. "They were taking them in pools of the nearby rocky coast, targeting adult animals with an average carapace width of 16cm. The animals were brought whole to the cave, where they were roasted on coals and then eaten."

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This is cool.