Chapter 4 Flashcards
Where did the Neanderthals time peirod
Pleistocene era (Ice Age)
Pleistocene
began 1.8 mya and consisted of frequent build up and retreating of continental ice sheets
An unstable climate overtime period
4 major cycles
ice sheets based on features in landscape (initially geologist)
Additional evidence
core drilled from the ocean floor or glacial advance and retreat (many glacial and interglacial)
Gran Dolina
- massive cave in Spain with 11 archaeological levels and stone tools and hominin remains dating to 800,000 years ago
- hominins occupied Spain as early as 1 mya
- animal bones dating 700,000 years ago in Italy
Bose site
hand axes and other tools in China 800,000 years ago
Acheulian site in Israel
evidence of cracking nuts for consumption 780,000 years ago
Eurasia
acheulian sites common across Europe and the Middle East and India 500,00 years ago
Beeches Pit Site
England provides evidence of a concentration of charred bones and stool tools that dates to 400,000 years ago
Unique wooden spear
In Germany date to 400,000 years ago
Artwork or ritual behavior
pebble with a design from 230,000 years ago in Israel
shell with grid design in Indonesia dating from 540,000-430,000 years ago
Special treatment for the dead
found in Spain to 300,000 years ago
small crevice opening
27 hominin individuals were too small for carnivores to drag them in
- Single quartz hand axe no evidence of burial and one skull had 2 blows to the upper forehead
2 major questions
- Are Neanderthals a subspecies of Homo Sapiens or are they their own species (Homo neanderthalensis)?
- Who was the shared ancestor of both modern humans and Neanderthals?
3 possible scenarios for a common ancestor of mondern humans and Neanderthals
- Both evolved separately from Homo erectus (they evolved at the same time but in a separate geographic area)
- The common ancestor was a distinct species that evolved from Homo erectus, possibly Homo heidelbergensis (both then evolved separately in parallel and in different geographic areas)
- There was a constant exchange of genetic material and they didn’t evolve in isolation of each other (yet, Neanderthal skeletal traits are distinct), so they are a single species
Neanderthal skeleton
- Elongated skull with occipital bun
- Projection face and large nose
- sloping forehead and almost absent chin
- Brow ridge is double arched and the brain is larger than Homo Erectus (similar size as modern humans)
- Skull is not as thick as that Homo erectus, but thicker than modern humans
- molars were large and front teeth show wear (indication regular use of incisors for gripping hides and eating)
- body is stocky, robust and similar in proportion to modern humans (adapted for colder climates)
Mitochondrial DNA
1999 Neanderthal fossil from Croatia
When did the sepration happen
Neaderthal (was a small group) and modern humans separated about 650,000 years ago
Denisovans
another groups found in a coave in Siberia that was genetically distince from Neatherthals and monder humans ( but neanerthals bones also found in same cave)
Oldest neanderthals skelntans
Nothern France (175,000 years) Eastern Germany (250,000 -200,000)
Mediterranean-climates woodlands
Grasslands
neanderthals lived from Western Europe to central Asia and the middle east
Middle Paleolithic
Stone tools
- rarely made handaxes and their stone tools were divers throughout the region
- toolmaking was highly sophisticated (learn behavior)
- ware on teeth reveals Neanderthal used their teeth as a third hand
Hunting
- a large number of animal carcasses provides evidence of a large game
- tools such as spears found in Germany hunted large game, bison
Coast Gibraltar exploitation fish, shellfish and other marine resources have been found as well but
Diet
- bone chemistry Belgium, France, and Croatia (meat eaters)
97% of the Neanderthal diets, but plants were also consumed
- toothpicks used on teeth has also been verified
- plants also may have been consumed for medical uses
Site Organization and use of fire
base camps (sheltered location to which meat and other resources would have been brought for consumption
- many base camps are located in caves, evidenced by charcoal, bone fragments, and fragments of stone tools
- alignment of stone are occasionally reported, but evidence of constructed at sites is rare
- no evidence that permanent hearths were maintained
Treatment of the dead
Kebara cave
- no evidence of disturbance by scavengers on a full corpse
Amud cave
- an infant was buried with the upper jaw of a read dear (no other specimen were found at the site)
Artwork
- currently no known artwork from Middle archaeological site
- possible piece of evidence in bedrock in Gibraltar 39,000 years ago
- mineral color (red ochre and black manganese) no painted objects have been found (may have painted bodies or practiced tattoong)
Neandethals society
- base camps demonstrated societies characterized by sharing (alos some cannibalism)
- ston tools manufacture show
- no pbjects found to reveal a sence of gourp identity
- no evidence of any markers of status or wealth and almost on evidence of any kind of ritual object
- no evidence of gender roles or social hierarchy
- group size had to determinme, but most sites were limited in size and scope as ther are no signs of over-consumption of other animals such as tortoises at the time
- most likely were highly mobile
