19. Neanderthal Cultural life

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Homo neanderthalensis, a species of hominid discovered and recognized in the 1850s and 1860s, was at their time the most similar of all hominids to modern humans. Despite physical differences, Neanderthals were the first hominids to show signs of primitive culture. Unlike any other hominids earlier in human evolution, Neanderthals were the first to a cultural life with a sense of community. For example, in these primitive times it was extremely rare for a Neanderthal to live beyond the age of 35, and for a Neanderthal to live to the age of 40 was nearly unheard of. "The most touching evidence of Neanderthal sensibilities was unearthed in 1957 in a large cave in Shanidar in the mountains of northern Iraq. The skeleton of a man who had died 45,000 years ago was excavated." A crippled man with a "withered right arm, probably as a result of a childhood injury" and a "smashed eye socket [indicating his blindness] in one eye," "suffered from arthritis," but continued to live for four decades, well beyond the average age of death. "That the old man was able to stay alive for four decades was testimony to the care he must have received from his fellow group members." Another example of Neanderthal culture would the evidence of burials in Neanderthal areas. "There is evidence of a respectful burial ... at Shanidar." Skeletal remains were discovered "surrounded by patches of flower pollen, which indicates that this individual was laid to rest on a mattress of woven pine boughs and flowers, and that as a final token of esteem, the corpse was strewn with brightly colored blossoms." Additionally, these burials proposed that the Neanderthals began to obtain a sense of afterlife and that "these flowers ... were placed as a medicinal aid in the afterlife." These examples help to illustrate the beginnings of cultural and social life among our ancestors.


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Image from: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-11408298


To learn more about Neanderthals, please visit: http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-neanderthalensis OR http://www.britannica.com/topic/Neanderthal


Sources:

"Physical Origins of Hominids." Origins. Comp. Rosie Beniretto. Ed. Ganesa Collins. Houston, Texas: St. John's School, 2015-2016. 35-36. Print.

- Lily McCullough