ANTH 201 Week 7/8
H. neanderthalensis or H. sapiens neanderthalensis
- 200 -30 kya - comprise either a single species (or sub-species) of hominin that thrived in Western Europe and the Middle East. (during colder seasons) during the Upper Pleistocene - some argue that neanderthals are a separate species, but others it is a subspecies of modern Homo sapiens
Last Neanderthals in Europe
- 35 kya, Neanderthals disappear entirely from the Middle East - At Vindija Cave, Croatia, fossils from several individuals have been dated to around 29 kya - The last-known Neanderthals come from fossils at Gorham's Cave, Gibraltar, suggested to be 24 ky old
Upper Paleolithic
- 40-11k BP - appearance of AMH coincides with increasingly complex behaviours and innovations such as: ○ An explosion of comparatively sophisticated technology ○ Broadened and efficient subsistence behaviour ○ Complex shelters Changes in settlement patterns
Homo heidelbergensis
- 600- 200 kya - First discovered in 1907 in the German city of Heidelberg, hence the species name - Body size appears to be adaptations towards frequently low climate in Middle Pleistocene : - robust brow ridges -stocky, heavier build
Anatomically Modern Humans
- AMHs are hominins whose skeletal morphology is within the range of modern human variation - Compared to Archaic hominins and Neanderthals, we see: ○ Reduced* cranial capacity (~1350 cc) ○ Reduced brow ridges ○ Reduced facial prognathism ○ Far less robust postcranial bones and heavy musculature - pronounced chin, smaller teeth
Eurasian Acheulian
- Acheulian becomes common in Europe, Middle East beginning 500 kya - different than African Acheulian because of the absence of cleavers, emphasis on handaxes - handaxes also had retouched flakes (modified after being stuck off core) - ex. sidescraper
Middle Stone Age industries
- Aterian: North African stone tools industry distinguished by the presence of points with a tang (small projection at the base of points used to secure it to a handle); finely made bifacial tools used a knives and hunting points - Sangoan/Lupemban: Central and East Africa: very crude, heavy duty tools, could have been an adaption to a heavily wooded environment - Howisons Poort: - found at Klasies River, South Africa ○ Blade tools ○ Bifacially flaked spear points ○ Microliths (small flakes) § Small flakes require finesse and management of own material ○ Evidence of effective large mammal hunting
Neanderthal art
- Divje Babe I Cave, Slovenia - bone fashioned into flute, although holes could have come from carnivores - Gorham's cave in Gibraltar: grid in bedrock, 39 kya
Neanderthal specialized hunting
- Hunting was likely via group ambush and followed the aurochs' (extinct cattle) seasonal migration patterns
Archaic hominins
- Middle Pleistocene Europeans and African hominins share many morphological similarities with anatomically modern humans - blanket term referring to those species likely bridging the gap between H erectus and anatomically modern humans
The Châtelperronian
- Western Europe material that presents a challenge for archaeologists - sites include Grotte-du-Renne (Arcy-sur-Cure), Saint-Cesaire, and Les Cottes, France - material culture appears in late Neanderthal occupations, dating to periods after modern humans had arrived in Europe between 45-35 kya, and present a mix of Neanderthal and modern human material culture - still has typical Mousterian tools (scrapers, Levallois flakes) - but has some Aurignacian characteristics (ornaments, bone and antler tools) - evidence indicates that materials were made by Neanderthals, but it is found near Aurignacian stratigraphy - could be evidence of Neanderthal and AMH interaction
Hybridization hypothesis
- acknowledges AMHs moving into Europe, but did not result in Neanderthal extinction - Neanderthals disappeared bc of interbreeding with AMHs - hard to prove bc it is hard to define a 'hybridized fossil' -ex. skeleton at Abrigo Lagar Belho (24 kya) found with UP tools - Neanderthal or a chunky child?
Multiregional Model
- aka regional continuity model - only one significant migration out of Africa was H ergaster/erectus into Georgia, East and South East Asia, occurring between 1.7-1.0 mya - H erectus/ergaster went onto develop into AMH in each of the varied parts of the world in which it settled - regular gene flow between populations would've been necessary to maintain species integrity
Recent African Origin Model
- aka replacement model, or 'out of Africa 2' - more widely-embraced model - AMH evolved in Africa from those hominins who stayed ○ H erectus populations elsewhere in the world remained evolutionary static ○ Not just one migration, but later migration from an evolved species that replaced all other hominins across the globe - Between 120 and 50 kya, these African AMHs left Africa to settle the world, replacing waning or already extinct H erectus group
Middle Stone Age, Africa
- coined in Seminal article in Journal of Human Evolution by Sally McBearty and Allion Brooks (2000) - Many of the hallmarks of 'modern' material culture appear in Africa, gradually and much earlier than originally thought - 250 kya to ~40 kya - Associated with AMH (those coming out of Africa) - Lots of red ochre Used in art
refugia
- isolated areas where no widespread evolutionary change has occurred - ex. Iberian peninsula, NEanderthals lived insolation from AMHs for a long time
Neanderthals and stone tools
- made tools by retouching the edges of flakes - prepared-cre technology, shaping the core to control the flakes produced
Beeches Pit
- most compelling evidence for use of fire in lower palaeolithic - 400 kya - small shallow depressions of hearths with preserves wood ash
Mezimaiskaya Cave
- most recent Neanderthal fossil (30kya) - Russia
Biache-Saint-Vaast
- oldest Neanderthal fossil (175 kya) - suggests Neanderthals first appeared in Europe at the end of interglacial Oxygen Isotope stage 7
Evidence of artwork or ritual behaviour in Lower Palaeolithic
- pebble found at Berekhat Ram with a representation of a human female (230 kya) - shell in Indonesia (540-430 kya) with a grid design
Terminal moraine
- ridge formed at the point where a glacial ice sheet reached its maximum extent - way for geologists to develop a record of Pleistocene climate change
zhoukoudian
- series of caves outside of Beijing, China - remains of over 40 Homo erectus individuals and over 100k stone choppers and flakes were found - some fossils lost during WWII - thought to provide earliest evidence for the use of fire with an ash layer (has been disproven as material brought in by a lake)
UP innovations (clothing)
- sewn animal hide clothing, needles - crucial for Late Pleistocene climate
Middle East sequence
- shows Neanderthal fossils are more recent than AMH fossils - discovered using thermoluminescence - Neanderthals evolved parallel to AMHs - Middle East area between Eurasian Neanderthals and African AMHs
Comparing Middle Stone Age and Middle Paleolithic
- similarities: stone tools made using prepared-core technology - variability between stone tool industries - evidence supports both hunting and extensive use of fire - differenceL - MSA has a lot more variability - MSA has elaborate bone tools, and evidence of fishing and collecting shellfish MSA has some evidence of artwork
Bose
- site in China - earliest site for Acheulian industry - handaxes and other tools dated to over 800kya
Gesher Benot Ya'akov
- site in Israel - dated to 780 kya = contains bifaces with large flakes, handaxes, and cleavers - some limited evidence for use of fire and cracking of nuts
Kebara Cave
- site in Israel, Neanderthal cave - 50 kya - had pit used for discarded material - main surface of save was very clean - found hearths, with charcoal and ash
Isernia la Pineta
- site in Italy dated to more than 700 kya - contains many stone tools and animal bones of bears, elephants, rhinos, bison, and deer - mostly simple flakes found
Kathu Pan
- site in South Africa - stone tools dated to 500 kya - pointed flakes - evidence that hominins in Africa used stone -tipped spears
Boxgrove
- site in Souther England - one of the earliest Acheulian sites in Europe - dated to 500 kya - stone tools include handaxes, hard and soft hammers - tools would have been very good at butchering carcasses
La cote de St. Brelade
- site on the English channel - found remains of 20 mammoths and 5 woolly rhinos - animals deliberately led off cliff to fall to their death, where Neanderthals butchered them
Blombos Cave
- sitr in South Africa - dated to 77 kya - pieces of red ochre found, could have been used for art -
UP innovations (complex shelters)
- sophisticated tents - mammoth bone huts - large sites, but usually two or three structures at a time Conkey: had aggregation sites where hunter-gatherer groups would come together for a brief time
Katanda
middle stone age site in Dem Rep of the congo - earlier than 75 kya - found barbed bone points, and a bone knife - could have been used on spears
Mitochondrial DNA
○ Form of DNA that is housed only in our cells' mitochondria ○ Passed on matrilineally ○ When men and women reproduce, the mitochondrial DNA from males does not pass on ○ Mutates at a predictable rate - we can work out phylogenies (evolutionary relatedness) based on how similar or different mtDNA is across living and/or extinct species
Neanderthal skeletal morphology
○ Generally very strongly built, average bone density is twice that of modern humans ○ Stocky with shorter forearms and legs ○ Much larger chest cavity ○ Wider pelvis and a stronger pelvic bone More joint-surface space, indicating heaver weight (likely much more muscular)
Neanderthal Burials
○ Intentionally buried their dead ○ Excavations at LaChapelle-aux-Saints that the elderly male Neanderthal described by Boule in early 20th c was intentionally buried approximately 50-60 kya - do not know if these burials ritualistic or hygienic? ○ Shanidar cave: excavations in the early 1960s revealed the partial remains of 7 adult and 2 infant Neanderthals - One adult male (Shanidar IV) was found with pollen surrounding the body; the excavation Ralph Solecki proposed this as proof of burial offerings - These interpretations were not universally accepted; pollen coming from burrowing of rodents - shallow burial pit found in Kerbara Cave - Amud Cave, Israwl: infant buried with the upper jaw of a deer
Three questions about the Châtelperronian
○ Is the Chatelperronian a native innovation to Neanderthals? Did they have cognitive ability to create symbolic material? ○ Or is it a borrowed style from the Aurignacian tradition through acculturation? □ Were they in contact with each other? Did they learn this from modern humans? □ Removes creative spark, emphasis on cognitive superiority of modern humans ○ Or have the stratigraphic contexts been mixed? □ palimpsest
UP innovations (settlement patterns)
○ Neanderthals = Radiating Pattern § Movement from permanent residential base camps to less permanent season camps close to important resources § 5 km radium, 20 km maximum ○ Upper Paleolithic = circulating pattern § Seasonal group movements to between temporary residential camps § 60 km radius
Middle Stone age and Recent African Origin
○ RAO model argues that AMHs migrated out of Africa bringing these superior technological and cultural traits with them ○ RAO model argues that these AMH migrants developed the 'Aurignacian' culture, which was the technological tradition that brought with them as they advanced to the west, replacing Neanderthal populations
UP innovations (technology)
○ Standardized production of blades - Greater efficiency with raw material § MP = up to 6 feet of edge per kg of rock § UP = up to 30 feet of blade edge per kg of rock (5x the efficiency) - Wider variety of tools produced from blades, such as endscrapers - presence of sophisticated points used in projectiles ○ greater use of bone, antler, ivory, shell - bone needles for sewing ○ using composite tools: ex. hafted spear forshaft - also microliths used for composite tools - evidence of long-trade networks
Evolution of cognition and demography in the UP
○ The capacity for complex cognition probably evolved long before complex though patterns actually developed (neanderthal art) - decreased brain size, some restructuring occurring ○ By c. 40,000 BP: humans population densities had increased to the point that groups were interacting with each other more frequently - Culture is cumulative: conditions were ripe for greater information feedback loops; complex behaviours more rapidly diffused - Connections being formed in societies would have been huge advantage in times of climatic stress
Upper Palaeolithic Ritual Burials
○ The oldest undisputed ritual burial is found at Qafzeh in Israel: a mother and child dating to around 92,000 BP - 71 flaked or marked pieces of red ochre ○ Sungir, Russia ca. 34 kya has evidence of grave goods, jewelry, clothing and spears - 13,000 beads surrounding an adult male, totalling more than 10,000 hours to produce - A clear sign of differential social status ○ Dolni Verstonice, Moravia: 28 kya - three individuals buried, triple burial could reproduce failed burial of a child - woman in middle, right man would be medicine man and left man providing comfort
Hafting
○ The process by which an artifact is attached to a haft or handle - Plant resin used to make adhesive, - Significant bc It reflects the Neanderthal capacity to come up with an innovative solution for a specific problem, namely finding an adhesive to help in crafting composite weapons
Demographic Consequences of UP Adaptations
○ True 'ethnic groups' i.e. cultures in the ethnographic sense, develop - one to one link between material culture ○ Artifact designs are not just utilitarian, but also send symbolic messages of group membership ○ There is marked increased in regional variation across UP material culture ○ Evidence of long distance trade between groups (coloured flint, sea shells)
UP innovations (economy)
○ improved selective hunting - ex. spear-thrower, bow ○ broadened resource base - included birds, small mammals, fish that required nets, snares and harpoons - more varied and reliable food supply - possibly mapped mobility to match seasonal movements of animals, like modern LApp reindeer herders - LA Marche: engraved rock with the head of a horse in a muzzle: possible sign of domestication, but disputed bc same lines are found on depictions of bison
Levallois technique
- Neanderthals used a prepared core technique - forming the finished flake tool on the core before it is removed - impressive amount of forethought and skill - produces very large flakes with very sharp edges
Pestera cu Oase Cave
- Romania - mandible dated 36 kya - earliest AMH remains in Europe
Happisburg Footprints
- SE UK ○ In 2013, strata belonging to an ancient estuary were revealed after a storm removed beach sediments ○ Violent storm uncovered footprints that were preserved ○ Erosion destroyed the footprints within 2 weeks ○ five individuals have been identified, ○ The footprints measured between 140 and 260 mm, thought to equate to heights between 0.9 and 1.7 m ○ Dated to between 850-950 kya, within the chronological range of H antecessor
Transitional archaeological industries between MP and UP
- Szletian: Europe, bifacial points - Ulluzian: Italy, arched-backed knives and bone points - Chatelperronian: (40-35 kya) - has a Chatelperronian point knife, but otherwise similar to MP - see own cue card
Neanderthals in the Upper Pleistocene Europe
- Traits (stockiness) become most distinct at the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene, just as temperatures around the world begin to drop dramatically (Europe was boreal forest) - Neanderthals living in the Middle East were only going so during the coldest months of the year - Neanderthals were an especially cold-temperature adapted hominin species
Earliest evidence for AMH
- cranial fragments from the East African sites of Omo, Ethiopia 200 kya and Herto, Ethiopia, 160 kya
First Neanderthal fossils
- discovered in 1856 by German lime miners in a small cave near Düsseldorf - first pre-modern human remains to be ultimately recognized as such - Herman Schaaffhausen, a Bonn U anatomy prof argued that there were ancient, based largely upon their context and mineralization □ He believed they belonged to a now 'barbarous and savage race' of extinct Germans
The Frison effect
- during its use life, a tol might pass through several forms as it undergoes resharpening - this is what happened with side scrapers during Middle Paleolithic - flake could go from single scraper, to double scraper, and then become a convergent scraper
Neanderthal Origins
- earliest evidence for Neanderthals comes from Atapuerca, Spain where DNA extracted from the Sima de los Huersos hominins (~430 kya) was found to closely match the DNA we have for other Neanderthals - Neanderthals began to diverge from H heidelbergensis in Europe between 600 and 400 kya - not own species until 200 kya
Neanderthal cannibalism
- evidence for cannibalism among Neanderthals in a few isolated cases is fairly conclusive - Best evidence is in the form of deep, systematically-produced cut marks - comes from half a dozen sites in Southern France, Northern Spain, and Croatia - El Sidron, Spain - a group of 12 Neaderthals. (6 adults and 6 juveniles), who has been butchered quickly and eaten raw, by another group of Neanderthals ○ This 'massacre' site has been dated to 50 kya, cut marks were clear and systematic, and bones had been broken for marrow and organ extraction ○ No evidence of cooking; not ritualistic
Schöningen, G ermany
- excavations done at
Assemblage vs. individual object
- few symbols have a universal meaning - to understand the object, you must know its place in an assemblage and develop its context
Neanderthal shift from scavenging to hunting
- for the first time, hominins were subsisting more on animal resources than vegetation, edible variables of which were only seasonally available ○ Hunting of very large game must be done in groups; requires a significant amount of planning and coordination
Ice cores
- foraminifera in the ice are used to measure and date fluctuations in the sea levels - foraminifera absorb two isotopes of oxygen, 18O (heavier) and 16O (lighter) - during glacial periods, there is a high ratio of 18O to 16O - can help see the retreat and advance of glaciers in the Pleistocene
Jebel Irhoud, Morocco
- fossils discovered as early as 1961 - thermoluminescence used to date finds to 300 kya - Fossil hominins possess more modern face and dentition, but the braincase is primitive (less rounded, more elongated)
Howieson's Poort technology
- found at Klasies River, South Africa ○ Blade tools ○ Bifacially flaked spear points ○ Microliths (small flakes) § Small flakes require finesse and management of own material ○ Evidence of effective large mammal hunting
Denisova Cave
- genetic sequencing of a fossil bone found dated 50-30 kya - suggests there was an Adian species genetically distinct from Neanderthals and AMHs - known as Denisovans, also Neanderthal fossils found in same cave - possible limited gene flow between Neanderthals and Denisovans
Neanderthal site organization
- had kill sites and base camps - base camps mostly located in caves, which is good for archaeological context - show evidence of charcoal, bone fragments, and stone tools in caves - simple camps, with central living areas and hearths, periphery used as dumps
Francois Bordes and Neanderthal ethnicity
- identified a series of distinct types of Middle Palaeolithic industries - Souther France: industries did not form chronological sequence, but found in alternating levels - product of different ethnic groups
Neanderthal Brain evolution
- if Neanderthals evolved larger brains independently from AMHs there is the possibility that they could have very different brain organization - possible brains lacked capability for speech
Clactonian industry
- in England - comprised of simple flake tools - argument that its the place of Acheulian manufacturing sites where tools were not finished yet - now clear it is different than Acheulian
Symbols
- in cognitive archaeology, symbols are what distinguish humans from other life forms - representation of an idea or concept - all intelligent thought and speech is based in symbols - symbols are attributed meaning sometimes arbitrarily
Neanderthal teeth as tools
- incisors and molars of many Neanderthals show evidence of having been used as tools - used to grasp objects while working, or to soften tough hides
Origin Stories Podcast: Stones and How to use them - John Shea's theories surrounding stone tool production:
- stone tools give insight into how the beings that used them behaved - doubted core assumptions: damage on stone tips as evidence of use for hunting, not by Neanderthals - thought Neanderthals used these tools, and realized how versatile these tools were - our own tools is one tool one function, but this should not be applied to primitive stone tools - stone tools always have more than one function - tool use not as a linear sequence of betterment, but just more options for stone tools - tools and communication: development of human language; variability occurs, different methods to make same tools, cumulative variability by ppl just 'correcting' each other on their methods - start seeing patterns, and differences through conformity through teaching each other with language - right now is a vacation from stone age, our ancestors started using stone tools, never stopped; we will eventually start using stone tools again too
Oxygen isotope curve
- the record of fluctuations in global climate during the Pleistocene - there is a lot of variability in terms of extent of glaciation and rapidity of climate change
Richard Klein
- tries to explain the pattern of AMHs producing material in MP and UP - around 50kya, there was a genetic mutation in AMH populations in Africa that did not change the skeleton or brain size, but caused changes in organization of the brain which led to the cognitive capacity for language - AMHs ended up replacing Neanderthals because of it, and made more symbolic objects bc of their capacity of languages - sees UP as transformation of global culture, but his proposal is hard to prove
Mousterian tradition
- unique body of stone tools known as the Mousterian tradition, after the French site Le Moustier, where examples were first found - associated with neanderthals and early AMHs - Consists of more specialized tool types, including knives, denticulates and points
According to John Shea, what are some changes in stone tool use that have occurred?
- variability: humans have the ability to do the same task in different ways (cumulative creativity) - humans carry tools with us, unlike chimps - H ergaster is born to run, good at carrying things; which affects kinds of tools being made - beginning of handaxes coincides with H erectus/ergaster (about the same size as cellphone, tablets, made to be portable) - ice age humans had bigger faces (good for showing aggressions), but with projectiles, facial robustness declines bc it is not as valuable; shift comes when ppl start settling in villages
Dating the AMH migration
- various ethnic groups in Africa have more mtDNA diversity than groups anywhere else on earth ○ the earliest modern human lineages (and out common female ancestor) must have originated somewhere in Africa ○ Appears to support the RAO model ○ Multiregionalists argue that the science of tracing migrations to date the migration is unreliable
H. heidelbergensis and evidence for hunting
- wooden crafted spears were found at Shöeningen, Germany, found with lithic flakes and more than 10,000 large mammal bone fragments, including horse ○ All date to around 400 kya ○ The earliest known evidence of technology designed explicitly for hunting large game - spears interpreted as projectiles
Marcellin Boule
- wrote the first widely-read and comprehensive scientific description of Neanderthals anatomy in 1911 - chose his type specimen a largely complete skull and partial skeleton of an aged male from a small cave site known as La Chapelle-aux-Saints in south-central France; specimen is now known to be 50-60 thousand years old - description of the species as permanently bent-kneed primitives set the stereotype for Neanderthals that persists to this day
First AMHs in Europe
-earliest evidence ofr AMH in Europe Kent's Cavern, UK, where a mandible has been reliably radiocarbon dated to around 44 kya - Grotta del Cavallo, Italy, AMH teeth once thought to have been Neanderthal have been dated to between 45-43 kya
Three scenarios for the evolution of Neanderthals
1. Neanderthals and modern humans both evolved separately from H erectus populations - evolution took place in parallel, separate geographic areas - modern humans in Africa, Neanderthals adapted to cold climates in Europe 2. common ancestor of modern humans and Neanderthals was a distinct species of itself evolved from H erectus and lived between 700-300 kya - possibly H heidelbergensis - evolved separately from this intermediate species in parallel, but in separate areas 3. Neanderthals and modern humans did not evolve in isolation, but there was constant gene flow between the two populations - some degree of isolation must have existed for the Neanderthals to evolve their own skeletal traits - Neanderthals and modern humans are members of a single species
UP industries
Aurignacian earliest UP industry - 40-26 kya - found in Europe, later sites in Middle East - Characterized by microliths called Dufour bladelets, used in complex tools, and bone points aka split--based points Gravettian - UP industry from 26-23 kya -found in Europe - characterized by small hunting points Soluterian - 23-20 kya - limited to France and Spain - very thin bifacial points, made with pressure from antler to make delicate flakes Magdalenian -20 - 11 kya - lots of bone tools, including harpoons
Atapuerca, Spain sites
Gran Dolina (great sinkhole) - contains Oldowan tools associated with Homo antecessor - many stone tools (flakes and cores) and bones dated to 800 kya Sima del Elefante (pit of the elephant) - jaw bone, oldest evidence for European hominin at 1.2 mya - micro-wear analysis shows H antecessor was eating hard, abrasive food - possible evidence for nutritional cannibalism because of microscopic marks on a scapula and marks on a metacarpal (cut marks) Sima de los Huesos (pit of bones) - 300 kya - 5500+ skeletal remains of 28 individuals of H heidelbergensis, all late adolescents and adults of both sexes were thrown into a sink hole - Carnivores, mostly bears, attracted by the smell, also fell in and ravaged the bodies - possible evidence for burial practice (not even ritual, just for practical reasons?)
Early Human Symbolizing Faculties
Language and Self-Conciousness - agreement that modern human abilities were presence since the emergence of Homo sapiens 2 mya - some believe that language was developed by H habilis 2 mya, while others think it was developed by H sapiens - self-conciousnessness in early humans has little evidence for clarification - John Searle argues there is a gradual development of self-conciousness in early humans Design in tool manufacture - can measure how long it takes to manufacture a tool to determine how advanced it is - Glenn Isaac: study variation in assemblages - more variation means that tool-markers were aware of different tool types for different functions - planning and design important for cognitive abilities Procurement of Materials and Planning Time - if the raw material is harvested far from where the tool is manufactured, could indicate lots of foresight - transport of material could indicate a sense of 'possession' Deliberate Burial of Human Remains - burial means respect for deceased, maybe a notion of an afterlife - adornment means the existence of the idea that decoration can enhance one's appearance, in terms of beauty, prestige, etc. - know formation processes after burial: ex. animal bones found with hominins: buried deliberately or found scavenging there? Representations and Art - representation of the real world very important - hard to confirm date of depictions and also difficulty in determining if something is a depiction
Interpretations of UP Art
§ Art for arts sake = devoid of any meaning beyond the production of art itself (no lessons, morals or utility) □ does not draw much from evolution of human behaviour □ In many cases, Chauvet is deep into the cave, no light = must sacrifice quite a bit to do art, so hard to believe it was just for fun § Sympathetic hunting magic = animals were depicted in order to capture their souls can symbolically kill them, ensuring success in hunting § Sympathetic fertility magic - animals and humans are depicted pregnant to encourage their reproduction - female figure very present in portable art, such as Venus figurines § Art as social structure = French prehistorians Annette Laming-Emperaire and André Leroi-Gourhan saw painted caves as organized compositions opposing male and female symbols. Prehistoric art was perceived to be a window to the universal patterning of human society □ Horse = male symbol, bison = female symbol □ Account might not take into biases of male-female binary § Expression of the psychosexuality of adolescent males = art was produced by young men obsessed with food and sex. Majority of handprint stencils to match size and shape of adolescent boys § Clan or extended family symbols = thought to depict totem animals or clans, illustrate alliances or conflicts, or mark territories akin to urban graffiti today □ Rouffingnac, France - Mammoth superimposed over a rhino, much like tagging a rival gang sign § Shamanic trance vision = most popular hypothesis; symbolises the mediation between the natural and spiritual world □ Most historically recorded rock art in South African and Australia was done by shamans, and illustrated spirit animals, seen during trance □ Widespread bc of ethnographic analogy using living peoples - help with anxiety of unpredictable undertakings, or the shaman acting as intermediary between humans and supernatural -
Upper Palaeolithic Art/Symbol Production
○ Abundant evidence for symbolic production including: § body ormentation □ Perforated bear canine tooth - could be part of a necklace or pendant - body live evolving from head lice 70 kya, around time of clothing emergence § Supposed notational systems □ Controversial lunar calendar - Abri Blanchard ca. 30,000 BP - not sure if calendar, but definitely the markings were not just decorative § Music □ Flutes 40k BP from Germany from perforated vulture bones § Figurative/abstract portable art □ Venus status, lion man at site of Hohlenstein - depiction of imagination, not just world as it is - venus difurines rarely have detailed faces, no feet, focus more on the body § Figurative/abstract cave art □ Ex. Chauvet, France (37-33 kya) see subjects of animal life, some rare human representations in cave art, more rare are abstract icons Lascaux, France - abstract crests - totems, kind of a flag
Neanderthal Genome Project
○ Analyses of DNA and mtDNA across a large sample of Neanderthal fossils, initial specimens which came from Vindija Cave, Croatia - conclusion that at 500 kya there was a split between AMH and Neanderthal lineages ○ Common ancestor with modern humans between 270-440 kya, based on the entire Neanderthal nuclear genome's similarity to our own ○ Living non-African humans have between 1-3% Neanderthal genome in our own DNA, indicating multiple (but infrequent) cross-breeding instances between Neanderthals and modern humans, likely in the Levant before humans migrated into Europe ○ Appears to support some degree of hybridization, not complete replacement of Neanderthals
Neanderthal Family Life
○ At Shinar Cave, Iraq, an older male (35-45 years old) (Shanidar-1) would almost certainly have needed a significant amount of daily help from others ○ Long-term care for the weakest individuals in a group is indicative of strong social bonds ○ Also evidence for complex hunting behavior among Neanderthals, which only adds to our understanding that their social organization was more complex than once though
Bermann's rule and Allen's rule
○ Bermann's rule: for varieties in the same species, body mass will increase in higher latitudes - All about conservation of heat: body surface area decreases relative to volume in colder climates (less body surface allows for less heat dissipation) ○ Allen's rule: higher-latitude (colder climate) organisms will be stockier with shorter limbs, also allowing for retention of body heat
Evidence for Neanderthal vegetable resources
○ Chemical studies show they had a predominant carnivorous diet ○ However, recent study of dental calculus (solidified plaque) on Neanderthal teeth has direct evidence of plant foods ○ At Shanidar, Iraq (a warmer environment) they were earing some legumes, dates, and barley that was 'cooked in a wet environment', i.e. baked or boiled ○ At Spy, (Belgium, colder environment), they were eating water lily bulbs
Theories for demise of neanderthals
○ Conflict (w AMHs or other Neanderthals) § Loss of pop and struggled with conflict ○ Competition for resources § Against other Neanderthals or AMHs ○ An unsustainably small Neanderthal population (led to frequent inbreeding) § Breeding with similar enough individuals to pass on negative traits ○ Less developed social networks, to buttress survival in times of population stress § No neighbours or friends to look for help when times get tough § AMHs have much stronger social networks ○ Interbreeding with, and cultural assimilation by, AMH (hybridization)
Neanderthal Cranial Morphology
○ Cranial capacity is highest among all known hominins ~1500 cc ○ Strong occipital bun ○ Projection at back of cranium, like the saggital crest of paranthropines, more powerful neck muscles ○ Very robust brow ridges ○ High degree of mid-facial prognathism and a wide nasal aperture/nose - large molars, evidence of using incisors as tools ○ Not yet projection of the chin
Consequences of Neanderthal hunting technology
○ Development of hunting technology permitted populations to move beyond the practice of opportunistic scavenging and towards adopting selective strategies for big-game hunting ○ Prey includes middle-to-large animals, such as reindeer (Old World caribou), cattle (aurochs), deer, wooly mammoths, and straight-tusked elephants
Neanderthal hunting behaviour
○ Effective hunters from close range ○ noprojectile technology ○ Stabbing spears more effective at close range rather than thrown from distance ○ Many individual Neanderthals had healed broken bones - says injury patterns are similar to those of modern rodeo cowboys- bull and bucking horse riders
Neanderthal use of fire
○ Evidence has been controversial on whether Neanderthals simply 'capture and converse' rather than 'make and control fire' - PNAS journal surveys 141 sites with Neanderthal occupation: ○ Evidence for the sustained use of fire includes the presence of charcoal, heated stone artifacts, burned bones, heated sediments, hearths and rough dates obtained from heated stone artifacts ○ According to authors, Neanderthals did control fire, which likely contributed to their survival in harsh norther latitudes
Neanderthal language
○controversial aspect of behavior in prehistory ○ Language can be conveyed verbally or through pictures (sign languages), as long as it's able to produced complex ideas in a flexible and open-ended way ○ Neanderthals certainly had the ability to convey thoughts through gestures ○ It was long believed that the Neanderthal vocal tract was too similar to that of apes to allow them to produce a complex range of sounds ○ On 1989: researchers excavating a 60k yr old Neanderthal burial at Kebara, Mount Carmel, Israel, recovered a nearly complete hyoid bone ○ Though the relationship between the shape of the hyoid and speech range has been questioned, most researchers agree there is a correlation - possible the human-like Neanderthal hyoid may have facilitated a range of sounds similar to our own
