Neanderthals lacked specialised cold weather clothing

Study of faunal remains suggest garments with fur trim were made only by modern humans.

Neanderthal use of clothing has long been debated. Even during warm interglacial periods, Neanderthals must have faced a problem with heat-loss in winter. It has been argued that wearing cape-type clothing across the shoulder would not have been sufficient to ward off the cold of even a moderately severe winter or body cooling caused by wind-chill. Clothing and footwear would therefore have had to be sewn together tightly in order to keep out snow and water. (Sørensen, 2009) Despite this, definite evidence for tailored clothing is lacking in Europe prior to the arrival of modern humans, and it has only been found at modern human sites. (Klein, 1999; Hoffecker, 2005)

In an attempt to resolve the issue, a team of researchers led by anthropologist Mark Collard adopted a novel approach. They considered faunal remains found at both Neanderthal and modern human sites and noted species whose skins might have been used to make clothing. They found that although species suitable for making cold-weather garments were found at both Neanderthal and modern human sites, remains of wolves, foxes, rabbits and mink occurred more frequently at modern human sites. These species are used to make garments with fur trim, and it was accordingly argued that Neanderthals did not make such garments and did, after all, rely on cape-type clothing. (Collard, et al., 2016)

References:

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Sørensen, B., Energy use by Eem Neanderthals. Journal of Archaeological Science 36 (10), 2201-2005 (2009).

Klein, R., The Human Career, 2nd ed. (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1999).

Hoffecker, J., Innovation and Technological Knowledge in the Upper Paleolithic of Northern Eurasia. Evolutionary Anthropology 14, 186-198 (2005).

Collard, M., Tarle, L., Sandgathe, D. & Allan, A., Faunal evidence for a difference in clothing use between Neanderthals and early modern humans in Europe. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology (2016).x

175,000-year-old underground Neanderthal stone circle

Structure discovered in 1990s is ten times older than Lascaux cave paintings

Bruniquel Cave in southwest France was discovered by members of a local caving club in 1990. The cave’s entrance had been sealed by a landslide during the last Ice Age, but the cavers re-opened a narrow 30m (100 ft.) passage leading into a main gallery of chambers rich in stalagmites and stalactites. Some 336 m (1,000 ft.) from the entrance, they found strange complex of stone circles, constructed from broken stalagmites. Intrigued by the discovery, the cavers brought in archaeologist Francois Rouzaud to investigate.

The complex comprises two circles measuring 6.7 × 4.5 m (22 ft. x 14 ft. 9 in.) and 2.2 × 2.1 m (7 ft. 3 in. x 6 ft. 10 in.) and four smaller stacks of stalagmites, two of which are located inside the larger circle. Around 400 stalagmite fragments were used in the construction, half of which are mid-sections with the tip and base removed. The fragments were standardised in length, leaving no doubt that the structures had been constructed by humans. All six structures show extensive traces of fire, with many of the fragments showing signs of either blackening or reddening.

Rouzaud recovered a burned bone from the largest structure, which was radiocarbon dated and found to be 47,600 years old. This predates the arrival of modern humans in the region, but not sufficiently to rule out the possibility that they were the builders. The only other possibility was Neanderthals – which in the 1990s, was viewed as unlikely. The slow-to-die perception of Neanderthals as dimwits was even more prevalent then. Sadly, before further investigations could be carried, Francois Rouzaud died suddenly, aged just 50. With his death, all work at Bruniquel Cave ceased, and the enigmatic stone circles were forgotten until they came to the attention of geologist Sophie Verheyden.

Verheyden was curious as to why nobody had attempted to date the stalagmites. 47,600 years is close to the useful limit of radiocarbon dating, but uranium series dating can go back much further, and speleothem is very amenable to this method. By applying it to calcite layers that had formed over the stalagmite fragments after the complex was built, it would be fairly straightforward to determine when they had been broken off from the floor of the cave. Verheyden assembled a multi-disciplinary team including archaeologist Jacques Jaubert and geologist Dominique Genty and in 2013, after obtaining permission to study the cave, they resumed the investigation.

The results are reported in the online edition of the journal Nature and they suggest that the Bruniquel Cave stone circles are 176,500 years old – ten times older than the cave paintings of Lascaux. There is not the slightest possibility that they were the work of modern humans, who would not arrive for another 130 millennia. The only hominins living in southwestern France at that time were Neanderthals. The attribution of the Bruniquel constructions to Neanderthals demonstrates that they possessed the sophistication and organisational skills to heat and light a deep underground cavern while they built and used an elaborate structure of a type never before seen elsewhere.

The obvious question now is was the function of these structures, located at such a great distance from the cave entrance? There is no evidence that the cave was used as a living habitat. Had the stone circles dated to the Upper Palaeolithic, nobody would have doubted that the complex was a ritual centre of some kind. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that it served this function for its Neanderthal builders and as such is further evidence of their capacity for symbolic behaviour.

References:

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1.	Jaubert, J. et al., Early Neanderthal constructions deep in Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France. Nature (Online edition) (2016).

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No Neanderthal-derived Y-chromosomes in modern population

Evidence found of genetic incompatibility

An open access study published in The American Journal of Human Genetics has found no evidence of Neanderthal introgression into modern male Y-chromosome despite it being elsewhere in the modern genome. The study is the first in which a Neanderthal Y-chromosome has been sequenced as all the Neanderthal individuals previously sequenced to 0.1x coverage were women. Women do not have a Y-chromosome, so men inherit their Y-chromosomal DNA exclusively from their fathers. The researchers sequenced the Y-chromosome from a male Neanderthal from the El Sidrón cave site in northern Spain, dating to 49,000 years ago.

The researchers found that the Neanderthal and modern human Y-chromosomes diverged from one another around 588,000 years ago, which is consistent with estimates for when the ancestors of Neanderthals and modern humans diverged from one another. This was not unexpected: the surprise was that no Neanderthal-derived Y-chromosome has ever been observed in a modern male. While this could simply be the result of genetic drift, the researchers found evidence of genetic incompatibility between the Y-chromosomal genes of Neanderthals and modern humans.

They identified protein-coding differences between Neanderthal and modern human Y-chromosomes, including potentially deleterious coding differences in the genes PCDH11Y, TMSB4Y, USP9Y and KDM5D. PCDH11Y and its X-chromosomal counterpart PCDH11X might play a role in brain lateralisation and language development; TMSB4Y might influence sperm production; USP9Y might reduce cell proliferation in malignant tumours; and KDM5D might play a role in suppressing the invasiveness of certain cancers.

Three of these changes are missense mutations, i.e. they alter the amino acid sequence of proteins, which in turn have a biological impact. All three are in genes that produce male-specific minor histocompatibility (H-Y) antigens. Such antigens can trigger an immune response during pregnancy, leading to a miscarriage. These antigens are similar to human leucocyte antigens (HLA) that form part of the body’s immune system, but because the genes are on the Y-chromosome they are specific to men. If only girls were carried to full term, that could explain the absence of any Neanderthal contribution to the present-day Y-chromosome.

Reference:

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Mendez, F., Poznik, D., Castellano, S. & Bustamante, C., The Divergence of Neandertal and Modern Human Y Chromosomes. The American Journal of Human Genetics 98, 728-734 (2016).x

Melanesian genomes reveal episodes of interbreeding with Neanderthals and Denisovans

Study demonstrates multiple encounters with archaic humans

In a new attempt to obtain genetic information about Neanderthals and Denisovans, researchers have analysed the genomes of 1,523 genetically-diverse individuals, including 35 Melanesians. Results were compared with known Neanderthal and Denisovan sequences. 1340 Mb of the Neanderthal genome and 304 Mb of the Denisovan genome were obtained.

The Melanesians show between 1.9 and 3.4 percent of Denisovan ancestry. They have an average 104 Mb of archaic sequences: 48.9 Mb of Neanderthal, 42.9 Mb of Denisovan, and 12.2 Mb of ambiguous sequence that could be either. By contrast, only 0.026 Mb (in Esan) to 0.5 Mb (in Luhya) of archaic sequences per individual were found in Africans. An average 65.0 Mb of archaic sequences were found in East Asians; 55.2 Mb in South Asians; and 51.2 Mb in Europeans. Most of these archaic sequences were Neanderthal in origin, although a small fraction (less than 1 percent) in East Asians and South Asians are predicted to be Denisovan. There was evidence for an additional pulse of Neanderthal admixture in Europeans, East Asians, and South Asians compared to Melanesians. The data suggests that there were at least three separate episodes of interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans, and one of modern humans interbreeding with Denisovans.

The study also found a statistically-significant overlap between regions depleted of Neanderthal and regions depleted of Denisovan genetic sequences, suggesting that archaic sequences in these regions were deleterious and were purged by the effects of purifying selection. Regions depleted of archaic lineages are contain large numbers of genes associated with specific regions of the brain, particularly in the developing cortex and adult striatum. A large region depleted of archaic sequences spans 11 Mb on chromosome 7 and contains the FOXP2 gene associated with speech and language, as well as genes associated with autism.

It is likely that further studies will reveal an increasingly complex picture of how modern humans have interbred with archaic humans throughout Eurasia. The depletion of archaic sequences from brain-related sequences of the genome might hint at cognitive differences between modern and archaic humans; or these regions might simply be more prone to adverse effects of horizontal gene transfer.

Reference:

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Vernot, B. et al., Excavating Neandertal and Denisovan DNA from the genomes of Melanesian individuals (10.1126/science.aad9416) (2016).x

The mammoth diet of Neanderthals

Stable isotope evidence from three Belgian sites

Attempts to gain insight into Neanderthal diet have been many and various over the years. Methods have included consideration of dental microwear, tooth calculus, lithic use-wear and residues, and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data. These studies have shown that the Neanderthal diet included the consumption of large herbivores, but the extent to which smaller mammals, birds, riverine and seafood was eaten remains uncertain.

To address these issues, researchers conducted carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses of collagen extracted from Neanderthal remains from the Belgian sites of Goyet and Spy. Results were compared with those from extensive faunal remains from Goyet, Spy and a third Belgian site, Scladina. These included mammoth, rhino, horse, reindeer, hyena, wolf, cave bear and cave lions. The proportion of the isotopes carbon-13 and nitrogen-15 reflect an animal’s place in the food chain: the highest levels are found in carnivores.

The results show that Neanderthal isotope levels and hence diet differed from that of any carnivore, indicating that they occupied a distinct ecological niche. The overall data suggested that while predators typically preferred smaller animals such as reindeer and horse, the Neanderthal focus was on large herbivores. Mammoth was the most important source of meat, accounting for around 30 to 40 percent of the Neanderthal diet. Reindeer and rhino accounted for lesser proportions, and plant food for about 20 percent.

Reference:

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Wißing, C. et al., Isotopic evidence for dietary ecology of late Neandertals in North-Western Europe. Quaternary International, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.09.091 (2015).x

Genetic study suggests that Sima hominins were proto-Neanderthals

430,000-year-old nuclear genome sequences confirms affinities  

Sima de los Huesos (‘Pit of Bones’)is a small muddy chamber lying at the bottom of a 13 m (43 ft.) chimney, lying deep within the Cueva Mayor system of caves in the Sierra de Atapuerca of northern Spain. Hominin remains were first reported there in the 1970s, and to date the remains of 28 individuals have been recovered. The Sima hominins lived around 430,000 years ago and while conventionally described as Homo heidelbergensis, they share some derived features with Neanderthals. This has led some to suggest that they are very early Neanderthals.

In 2014, mitochondrial DNA was obtained from the thighbone of one of the Sima hominins. It was expected that it would show affinities to later sequences obtained from Neanderthals, but instead it suggested that the Sima hominins were more closely related to Denisovans. However, mitochondrial DNA does not reveal the full picture of relationships among populations, so researchers set about the more difficult task of obtaining nuclear sequences from the Sima remains.

Genetic material was recovered from an incisor and a molar tooth, a fragment of a thighbone and a shoulder blade. Useful sequences were obtained from the incisor tooth and the thighbone fragment. The results have shown that the Sima hominins were, after all, more closely related to Neanderthals than they were to Denisovans. The Sima hominins were thus either early Neanderthals or closely related to the ancestors of Neanderthals after diverging from a common ancestor shared with the Denisovans. The age of the Sima remains is compatible with earlier estimates that the Neanderthal/Denisovan split occurred between 381,000 and 473,000 years ago. Based on the correctness of these estimates, modern humans diverged from Neanderthals 550,000 to 765,000 years ago – too early for later examples of Homo heidelbergensis such as Arago or Petralona to belong to a population ancestral to both Neanderthals and modern humans. The true common ancestor may be Homo antecessor, which was present in Spain from 1.2 million to 800,000 years ago and might have been responsible for the hominin footprints discovered at Happisburgh, England, in May 2013. However, this species has yet to be identified in Africa and may be a European variant of Homo erectus that migrated from Asia.

The Denisovan affinities of the mitochondrial DNA are still unexplained. One possibility is that the common ancestor carried mitochondrial lineages present in both, but later eliminated from the Neanderthals. The authors noted that this requires an explanation for the presence of two deeply divergent mtDNA lineages in the same archaic group, one that later recurred in Denisovans but disappeared from the Neanderthals; and one that became fixed in Neanderthals. The required explanation might be later population bottlenecks that are known to have affected Neanderthal populations. However, the authors preferred explanation is that the mitochondrial genomes of later European Neanderthals was acquired by interbreeding with hominins from Africa. This might explain the absence of Neanderthal-derived morphological traits in some European Middle Pleistocene hominins such as Ceprano and Mala Balanica.

Reference:

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Meyer, M. et al., Nuclear DNA sequences from the Middle Pleistocene Sima de los Huesos hominins. Nature (Published online) (2016).

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Did Neanderthals use manganese dioxide to start fires?

Mineral might have been sought for its combustion enhancing properties rather than as black pigment

Manganese dioxide minerals have been found at a number of Neanderthals sites in Europe, including Pech-de-l’Azé I in the Dordogne region of southern France. The site is around 50,000 years old, predating the arrival of modern humans in Europe. Over the last sixty years, the site has yielded several hundred small ‘blocs’ of black mineral, thought to  be manganese dioxide, and totaling 750 gm in weight. The majority have been ground to obtain powder.

The long-standing view is that powdered manganese dioxide was used as a black pigment, but this view is challenged in a newly-published study. Although manganese dioxide minerals are reasonably abundant, it would have been far easier for Neanderthals to use charcoal and soot from their campfires as black pigment. Also, the evidence from other sites suggests that Neanderthals favoured manganese dioxide over other locally-available manganese minerals, even though the latter would yield equally-satisfactory black pigment. This led the researchers to consider uses for which only manganese dioxide would suffice.

Manganese dioxide is not combustible, but it is a powerful oxidising agent and thus aids the combustion of other materials. The researchers found that when industrial powdered manganese dioxide was mixed with wood turnings, the latter ignited at a temperature of 250 degrees Celsius, over a hundred degrees below the normal ignition temperature. Furthermore, the rate of charcoal combustion was substantially increased. As little as six percent by weight of manganese dioxide was required. The same results were obtained with powder obtained from the Pech-de-l’Azé I blocs.

Based on these experiments, the researchers concluded the Neanderthals’ chief use for manganese dioxide was for starting fires rather than pigment. With archaeological evidence for fireplaces and the production of manganese dioxide to powder, they suggest that the Neanderthals at Pech-de-l’Azé I were able to produce fire as required rather than having to make opportunistic use of lightning strikes and forest fires.

Reference:

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Heyes, P. et al., Selection and Use of Manganese Dioxide by Neanderthals. Scientific Reports 6 (22159 ), doi:10.1038/srep22159 (2016).

Modern humans interbred with Neanderthals 100,000 years ago

Ancient DNA from Altai Neanderthal female is first evidence of modern human contribution to Neanderthal genome

Ever since the first draft of the Neanderthal genome was published in 2010, it has been known that Neanderthals interbred with modern humans and it is now believed that around twenty percent of their genome survives in the present-day population. Subsequent work revealed the existence of a new human species in the Russian Altai, the Denisovans, and that parts of their genome also survive in the present-day population. It has also been established that the Altai Denisovans also interbred with Neanderthals in the region and with another as yet unidentified archaic species (probably Homo erectus). What has hitherto been absent up is evidence of gene flow from early modern humans into archaic genomes.

To address this issue, researchers investigated the previously-sequenced genome of a Neanderthal woman who lived in the Altai region 50,000 years ago. They found evidence of gene flow from modern humans into the ancestors of the Altai Neanderthal. The source was unclear, but was thought to be a modern population that either split from the ancestors of all present-day Africans, or was one of the early modern African lineages. It was estimated that the implied interbreeding occurred at least 100,000 years ago – well before the previously-reported gene flow from Neanderthals into modern humans outside Africa 47,000 to 65,000 years ago. However, they did not find evidence for similar gene flow from modern humans into either Denisovans or European Neanderthals.

The traditional view that modern humans did not leave Africa and the Levantine/Arabian region until around 60,000 years ago has been refuted by the discovery of teeth lying within the modern range at Fuyan Cave, China, dating to around 100,000 years ago. If modern humans were in China then it is entirely possible that they were also in the Altai at that time. Other possibilities are the Arabian Peninsula, where there is archaeological (though no fossil) evidence for a modern human presence as long ago as 127,000 years ago and Neanderthals were likely to also have been present; and the Levant where there is fossil evidence for both Neanderthals (Tabun) and modern humans (Skhul and Qafzeh) 120,000 to 110,000 years ago.

Reference:
Kuhlwilm, M. et al., Ancient gene flow from early modern humans into Eastern Neanderthals. Nature, doi:10.1038/nature16544 (2015).

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Adverse effects of interbreeding with Neanderthals

Not all ‘imported’ genes were beneficial

Interbreeding with Neanderthals and Denisovans is believed to have introduced many beneficial genes into the modern genome, helping the immune systems of early modern humans to fight pathogens to which they had not previously been exposed. Other ‘imported’ genes include those involved with the production of keratin, a protein that is used in skin, hair and nails, and in East Asian populations, many genes involved with protection from the sun’s UV rays are of Neanderthal origin. It is likely that the transfer of these genes helped early modern humans to adapt to conditions away from their African homeland.

However, a newly-published study suggests that interbreeding with Neanderthals also had a down side. Researchers analysed the electronic health records (EHR) of 28,000 individuals of European origin and integrated the data with high resolution maps of Neanderthal haplotypes across individual modern human genomes. They carried out a large-scale assessment of the functional effects of DNA inherited from Neanderthals on health-related traits in these individuals. Particular use was made of genotype and phenotype data from the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network, which is a consortium that links EHR systems combined with patient genetic data from nine sites across the USA.

Genes of Neanderthal origin were found to be associated with smoking addiction, increased risk of depression, incontinence, bladder pain, urinary tract disorders, protein calorie malnutrition, and actinic keratosis (precancerous skin lesions resulting from exposure to the sun). One gene variant was associated with blood coagulation, increasing the risk of strokes. These results follow on from earlier work which implicated increased risk of Crohn’s disease and type 2 diabetes with Neanderthal genes.

Many of these genes would have been advantageous to Neanderthals: for example, the benefits of enhanced blood coagulation would have greatly outweighed the risk of strokes when injuries leading to significant loss of blood were a part of daily life and few people lived past forty. In other cases, genes were probably once advantageous but adverse effects were triggered by the changes in diet following the coming of agriculture in Neolithic times.

Depression can be triggered by disturbed circadian rhythms. It is possible that Neanderthal brain chemistry and skin responses to sunlight were both linked to the lighting conditions and lifestyles of an era when artificial light consisted of torches and camp fires. In which case, the genes might only have become maladaptive with the advent of widespread artificial lighting.

The methodology used by the researchers is likely to provide further insight into the genetic impact of these ancient encounters between Neanderthals and modern humans.

References:

Simonti, C. et al., The phenotypic legacy of admixture between modern humans and Neandertals. Science 351 (6274), 737-741 (2016).

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Congenital defect is possible further evidence of inbreeding by Neanderthals at El Sidrón

High incidence of congenital clefts of the arch of the atlas observed among remains from Spanish site

The Atlas (C1) vertebra is the first cervical vertebra of the spine, immediately below the skull. It takes its name from the Greek Titan Atlas, who is popularly (but incorrectly) supposed to have held the world on his shoulders. Congenital defects of the anterior or posterior arches are rare in modern populations, occurring at frequencies of 0.087 to 0.1 percent and 0.73 to 3.84 percent respectively. The condition does not normally lead to clinical symptoms.

El Sidrón is a cave site in Asturias, northern Spain that has yielded extensive Neanderthal remains and stone tools since these were first discovered there in 1994. Over 2,400 human fossils have been recovered, representing at least thirteen individuals including seven adults, three adolescents, two juveniles and one infant. The remains are 49,000 years old. Ancient DNA has previously been obtained from the remains, indicating a small patrilocal (mature males remain within their family birth group, but females come from outside) group with low genetic diversity. Dental hypoplasias indicate that around half of the group members had experienced episodes of growth arrest due to malnutrition.

Researchers now report that two out of just three well-preserved atlases from the site present respectively a defect of the posterior arch and the anterior arch. Such a high incidence of a rare condition could be interpreted as further evidence of low genetic diversity of the group, and as a possible indicator of inbreeding. The picture that emerges from El Sidrón is of a small, barely-viable Neanderthal group struggling for survival in extremely harsh conditions.

References:Ríos, L. et al., Possible Further Evidence of Low Genetic Diversity in the El Sidrón (Asturias, Spain) Neandertal Group: Congenital Clefts of the Atlas. PLoS One 10 (9), e0136550. (2015).

Early modern human from Romania had recent Neanderthal ancestor

Ancient DNA from Peştera cu Oase demonstrates inbreeding no more than four to six generations previously

The cave site of Peştera cu Oase (‘Cave with Bones’) in Romania has yielded some of the earliest fossil remains of modern humans in Europe. The remains of three individuals recovered from the site include a largely-complete lower jawbone (Oase 1), the near-complete skull of a 15-year-old adolescent, and a left temporal bone. The remains are around 40,000 years old and exhibit a mosaic of modern and archaic features. Modern features include the absence of browridges, a narrow nasal aperture, and a prominent chin; but there are also archaic features such as a wide dental arcade and very large molars. There is little doubt that they are modern humans and not Neanderthals, but some aspects of the morphology are consistent with Neanderthal ancestry.

Researchers have now recovered ancient DNA from the Oase 1 jawbone and sequenced the genome. They report that between 6 to 9 percent of the genome is of Neanderthal origin, a higher percentage than for any other modern human genome sequenced to date. Three chromosomal segments of Neanderthal DNA are of considerable length, suggesting that the Neanderthal contribution to the Oase 1 individual occurred so recently in their past that the chromosomal segments of Neanderthal origin had little time to break up due to recombination. The researchers turned their attention to seven segments of the genome that appeared to be of recent Neanderthal origin and from the genetic lengths of these, implied that Oase 1’s Neanderthal ancestor had lived no more than four to six generations earlier, or less than two hundred years.

The existence of such a recent Neanderthal ancestor casts doubts on theories that suggest that interbreeding occurred only very occasionally, or was confined to an early episode soon after modern humans first left Africa. However, the researchers failed to establish a clear relationship between the Oase 1 individual and later modern humans in Europe, suggests that they may have been a member of an early modern human population in Europe that eventually died out without contributing much to later European populations.

Reference:

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Fu, Q. et al., An early modern human from Romania with a recent Neanderthal ancestor. Nature 524, 216-219 (2015).

130,000 year old Neanderthal eagle talon necklace predates H. sapiens influence

Does evidence from Krapina, Croatia refutes ‘bow wave’ theory?

The popular view of the Neanderthals as dimwits has been in trouble for years, as evidence for Neanderthal symbolic behaviour has continued to accumulate. Up until now, however, it is not been possible to unequivocally rule out the influence of modern humans, who reached Europe around 46,000 years ago. The Châtelperronian culture for example, long put forward as evidence of Neanderthal behavioural modernity, has now been shown not to have begun until after the arrival of modern humans. It is assumed that the Neanderthals simply borrowed the trappings of modernity from their new neighbours.

In other regions such as Spain and Italy, the evidence for Neanderthal behavioural modernity has been attributed to what Sir Paul Mellars has described as a ‘bow wave effect’, i.e. long-distance interactions between Neanderthals and modern humans occurring several millennia before the latter become visible in the archaeological record.

This view is now seriously challenged by a new study of eight white-tailed eagle talons that were found at the Neanderthal site of Krapina, Croatia over a century ago. Researchers found 21 cut marks on the talons, and there were areas of high polish consistent with ‘use wear’ as the talons rubbed against each other. The implication is that they were mounted in a necklace or bracelet – clear evidence of symbolic behaviour. Furthermore, it was concluded that the talons come from at least three eagles, suggesting that considerable effort had gone into obtaining them. The white-tailed eagle is fairly rare and it is an aggressive apex predator, far from easy to catch or trap.

Associated faunal remains suggested that Krapina dates to the warm Eemian interglacial period. A direct date of 130,000 years old was obtained in 1995 – which means that it predates any possible influence from modern humans by more than 80,000 years.

References:

1.      Radovčić, D., Sršen, A., Radovčić, J. & Frayer, D., 2015. Evidence for Neandertal Jewelry: Modified White-Tailed Eagle Claws at Krapina. PLoS One, 11 March.

Neanderthals may have used projectile spears

Bone abnormality suggests repetitive movements similar to those documented for professional throwing athletes

Three long bones from a Neanderthal left arm have been found at Tourville-la-Rivière, Normandy. The bones are somewhere between 183,000 and 236,000 years old and paleo-ecological indicators suggest an date towards the end of the MIS 7 interglacial (245,000 to 190,000 years ago).

An abnormal crest has been found on the humerus, which is thought to represent a deltoid muscle enthesis. The abnormality could have resulted from trauma connected to repetitive movements similar to those seen for professional throwing athletes.

It has long been assumed that Neanderthals used only thrusting rather than projectile spears, but the Tourville-la-Rivière findings provide evidence,albeit inderect, that this might not have been the case. Such a suggestion is consistent with the recent discovery of 280,000-year-old projectile points in Ethiopia.Though these were not made by Neanderthals, they nevertheless indicate that archaic humans could master projectile technology.

The findings are published in the open-access journal PLoS One.

Reference:

1. Faivre, J. et al., Middle Pleistocene Human Remains from Tourville-la-Rivière (Normandy, France) and Their Archaeological Context. PLoS One 9 (10), e104111 (2014).

Neanderthal rock engraving

Important evidence for symbolic behaviour from Gorham’s Cave, Gibraltar

Archaeologists from the Gibraltar Caves project have found a rock engraving at Gorham’s Cave on the eastern side of Gibraltar. The deeply-etched cross-hatched pattern is carved into the dolomite bedrock of the cave, and was wholly-covered by an undisturbed archaeological level containing Mousterian artefacts. Thus its association with Neanderthals is secure.

The engraving is at least 39,000 years old and although modern humans were in Europe by that time, they had not yet reached the southern Iberian Peninsula. Furthermore, the Gibraltar rock engraving predates the earliest Aurignacian cave art, suggesting that it was an independent Neanderthal development.

Researchers carried out a number of tests to demonstrate that the engraving was intentional. They used a variety of tools and cutting actions on blocks of dolomite rock similar to the rock face at Gorham's cave and found that results best matching the engraving were achieved by using a pointed tool to create and enlarge a groove. Considerable care and physical effort was required to produce similar markings. The researchers also used the sharp tools to cut pork skin on a dolomite slab to rule out the possibility that the pattern had been produced accidentally while cutting meat or working animal hides.

The Gorham’s Cave rock engraving is only the latest in a series of recent discoveries that clearly demonstrate that the Neanderthals were not the dimwits of popular imagination. It is possibly the strongest indication yet that they were capable of symbolic behaviour

References:

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1.            Rodríguez-Vidal, J. et al., A rock engraving made by Neanderthals in Gibraltar. PNAS (Early edition) (2014).

Link:

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/08/27/1411529111

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Neanderthals coexisted with modern humans for up to 5,000 years

New radiocarbon dates point to longer coexistence but earlier extinction

A new study published in the journal Nature suggests that Neanderthals persisted alongside modern humans in Europe for as long as 5,000 years after the arrival of the latter. A team lead by Tom Higham at Oxford obtained 196 AMS radiocarbon dates from 40 sites across Europe, relying on improved techniques to remove young carbon contamination. The results also indicate that the Neanderthals were probably extinct no later than 41,000 to 39,000 years ago.

Although it was once believed that Neanderthals and modern humans had coexisted for up to 10,000 years, work in the middle of the last decade suggested that the overlap was very brief.  The new results represent a reversion to the earlier position, albeit pushed further back in time since it is now believed that modern humans first reached Europe about 46,000 years ago (Higham’s team suggest the date was around 45,000 years ago).

The new dates may resolve long-running controversy over the Châtelperronian culture, with is believed to be of Neanderthal origin but incorporates elements associated with modern human behaviour. The dates indicate that the Châtelperronian began around 45,000 years ago, suggesting that it was influenced by interaction with modern humans. The Châtelperronian comes to an end at about the same time as the Mousterian, about 41,000 to 39,000 years ago

.

The researchers were unfortunately unable to obtain any dates for remains from Gorham’s Cave, Gibraltar, where Neanderthal survival after 30,000 years ago has been claimed.

The lengthy overlap rules out the in any case improbable hypothesis that modern humans hunted down and exterminated the Neanderthals. It is more likely that a combination of increased competition for limited resources and the Heinrich Event 4 climatic downturn 40,000 years ago was responsible.

References: 

Higham, T. et al., The timing and spatiotemporal patterning of Neanderthal disappearance. Nature 512, 306-309 (2014). 

Gibraltar Neanderthals ate roasted pigeons

Further evidence of Neanderthal sophistication at Gorham’s Cave

Gorham’s Cave, Gibraltar, was occupied by Neanderthals for thousands of years and was one of the last known sites of Neanderthal occupation before their final disappearance. Researchers have been working at the cave site for the past 25 years, and it has yielded a wealth of data about Neanderthal technology and patterns of subsistence.

In a survey published online in Nature Scientific Reports, researchers examined 1,724 Rock dove (common pigeon) bones from the cave, spanning the period from 67,000 to 28,000 years ago. All but the most recent part of this time period is associated with Mousterian technology, implying that the occupants of the cave at that time were Neanderthals. Modern human Upper Palaeolithic technology does not appear until near the end of the sequence.

Some of the bones were unevenly discoloured, consistent with roasting over a fire or glowing embers. Bones with less meat on them would have been more intensely affected by the heat, and would consequently undergo more discoloration than meatier bones. Some bones also displayed cut marks and/or tooth marks.

The exploitation of the pigeons was not sporadic: there is repeated evidence for the practice throughout the time that Neanderthals were resident in the cave. Furthermore, they could not have learned about it from modern humans as the earlier evidence substantially predates the arrival of modern humans in Europe.

That the Gorham’s Cave Neanderthals were able to regularly exploit this reliable and sustainable source of food is further evidence of their sophistication.

References:

1. Blasco, R. et al., The earliest pigeon fanciers. Nature Scientific Reports online (2014).

Link:
http://www.nature.com/srep/2014/140807/srep05971/full/srep05971.html

Neanderthals ate their greens

Analysis of 60,000 – 45,000 year old coprolites provides insight into Neanderthal diet

Neanderthal dietary reconstructions have, to date, been based on archaeological evidence, stable isotope data and studies of dental calculus. These suggest that they were predominantly meat eaters, although plant foods made a contribution to their diet. Hitherto, there has been no direct evidence for an omnivorous diet.

A new study, published in the open access journal PLoS One has presented direct evidence of Neanderthal diet using faecal biomarkers, which are a valuable analytical tool for identifying diet. Researchers applied gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy techniques to coprolites (fossil faeces) from the Neanderthal site of El Salt at Alicante, Spain. The coprolites were recovered from sediments gathered from a number of levels at the site, which was repeatedly occupied by Neanderthals between 60,000 and 45,000 years ago.

The team focussed on chemical processes associated with the action of bacteria in the gut. They found a high proportion of coprostanol, which the gut bacteria produce from cholesterol and which is associated with the consumption of meat. However, they also recorded significant quantities of 5β-stigmastanol, which is associated with plant consumption.

Further tests were necessary to confirm that the coprolites were of human origin. The conversion of cholesterol into coprostanol is not unique to humans, but related molecules were also identified in proportions that ruled out other omnivores.

   

References:

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1.  Ainara Sistiaga, A., Mallol, C., Galván, B. & Everett Summons, R., The Neanderthal Meal: A New Perspective Using Faecal Biomarkers. PLoS One 9 (6), e101045 (2014).

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Link:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0101045

Sima de los Huesos hominins are proto-Neanderthals

New study supports ‘accretion’ model

A new study, published in the journal Science, has provided support for the ‘accretion’ model of Neanderthal evolution. ‘Classic’ Neanderthals, i.e. humans possessing the full suite of Neanderthal characteristics, do not appear in the fossil record until 130,000 years ago. However, French palaeoanthropologist Jean-Jacques Hublin has proposed that Neanderthal characteristics appeared gradually over time, in a piecemeal fashion.

Thus, for example if Feature X appeared in one population and Feature Y in another, then interbreeding between the two populations would have resulted in a population possessing both Features X and Y. Over time, populations gradually acquired the full suite of Neanderthal characteristics by a process of accretion, resulting in a gradual transition from Homo heidelbergensis to Neanderthal. The accretion model explains ‘proto-Neanderthal’ features seen on certain fossils dating to the period prior to the appearance of the ‘classic’ Neanderthals. These include a 400,000-year-old fragmentary skull from Swanscombe in England and the 225,000-year-old Steinheim skull from Stuttgart, Germany.

Much of the evidence we have regarding Neanderthal origins comes from a single site in the Sierra de Atapuerca of northern Spain, near the city of Burgos: a Middle Pleistocene human burial pit known as Sima de los Huesos. The name translates – rather appropriately – as ‘the Pit of Bones’. Sima de los Huesos is a small muddy chamber lying at the bottom of a 13 m (43 ft.) chimney, lying deep within the Cueva Mayor system of caves. Investigation of the site has proved to be long and difficult. The most immediate problems are logistical. The cramped site is located more than 500 m (⅓ mile) from the mouth of the Cueva Mayor and is hard to access, necessitating at times crawling on the stomach. Another problem is the disturbance to the site caused by the many generations of souvenir and fossil hunters. Systematic excavation commenced in 1984 and has continued ever since. To date, over 2,000 fragmentary hominin fossils have been recovered, including three skulls. In total, the remains are thought to represent at least 32 individuals of both sexes. It is likely that the site was simply used for the hygienic disposal of the dead, because there is no evidence to suppose that any of the individuals were deliberately killed and the bones show no sign of injuries caused by spears or clubs.

Study of this enormous collection of bones is still in progress, and is likely to continue for some time yet as the site yields further fossils. However, it has become clear that the fossils show a mixture of Homo heidelbergensis and Neanderthal characteristics, just as would be expected if the accretion model is correct. The key question is how old is the site? Uranium series dates obtained in 2007 suggested that they were at least 530,000 years old, making the Sima people older than some Homo heidelbergensis remains from southern Europe and the Balkan region that show no incipient Neanderthal characteristic features.

The new study considered 17 crania, including seven new specimens. The sample shows a consistent morphological pattern with derived Neanderthal features present in the face and anterior of the cranial vault, many of which are adaptations to aid chewing of food. This suggests that facial modification was the first step in the evolution of the Neanderthal lineage, consistent with the accretion model evolution, with different anatomical features evolving at different rates.

The researchers also used a variety of techniques including combined electron spin resonance/uranium series to obtain a revised date of 430,000 years old, which gives a far better fit with the accretion model.

References:

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1.  Arsuaga, J. et al., Neandertal roots: Cranial and chronological evidence from Sima de los Huesos. Science 344 (6190), 1358-1363 (2014).

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How to think like a Neandertal, by Thomas Wynn and Frederick Coolidge

Of all early humans, none have captured the public imagination to anywhere near the extent of the Neanderthals. Indeed, with the possible exception of the dinosaurs, no extinct species is so deeply rooted in our popular culture. The idea that tens of thousands of years ago, people very much like ourselves shared the planet with another human species is one that intrigues many, although the term ‘Neanderthal’ is all too often used in a pejorative sense, and there is a widespread perception of the Neanderthals as dimwits.

In this engaging and accessible book, which is nevertheless as rigorous as any textbook, anthropologist Thomas Wynn and psychologist Frederick Coolidge paint a very different picture of the Neanderthals and their way of life. Drawing on archaeological and fossil evidence, they go beyond reconstructing the Neanderthal world and attempt to deduce their underlying thought processes.

In the first chapter, we are given an introduction to the world of the Neanderthals. From the start, Wynn and Coolidge refer to the Neanderthals as ‘people’, which is entirely correct as they were every bit as human as we are. The name comes from Neander Tal (‘Neander Valley’) near Dusseldorf, where Neanderthal remains were first identified in the 1850s (it was originally spelled ‘Neander Thal’, hence the more commonly-used spelling, but it has always been pronounced ‘tal’ and not ‘thal’). We learn that the Neanderthals were short, stocky, powerfully-built folk, with chinless, protruding faces, pronounced browridges over their eyes, and long, broad noses. The braincase was long and low, rather than the globular shape of modern people. Many features of their distinctive anatomy were adaptations to the harsh conditions of Ice Age Europe, but in comparison to very early humans it turns out that modern people are actually far more distinctive than Neanderthals.

An important difference is the shape of the braincase, which reflects the actual shape of the brain itself. Neanderthal brains were differently shaped to ours, and about ten percent larger. Does this mean that they were ten percent smarter than us? Wynn and Coolidge believe that they were neither more nor less intelligent than us – just different. This conclusion provides a focus for the rest of the book.

Neanderthals lived hard and died hard. Shanidar 1 lived in Iraq about 50,000 years ago, and was in his late 30s when he was killed by a rock fall. But long before his death he had suffered a number of major injuries, any one of which could have killed him. He owed his survival to caring companions, who nursed him back to health – and a dogged ability to cope with pain and life-changing injuries. Nor was Shanidar 1 particularly unusual: the pattern of healed injuries suffered by Neanderthals is very similar to those suffered by rodeo riders, suggesting that were regularly pitted against large, dangerous animals.

Each subsequent chapter focusses on a different aspect of Neanderthal life, and uses the evidence to build on this initial picture of them as tough but compassionate folk. Topics include hunting, spear making, family life, burial traditions and language. Wynn and Coolidge even examine Neanderthal humour before characterising them as pragmatic, stoical, risk-taking, empathic (in that they cared for their sick and injured), hard-hearted (in that they were prepared to leave the sick and injured behind if they needed to move camp), conservative (from the point of their extremely static technology, not their voting intentions), and xenophobic (in that they rarely met strangers and distrusted them when they did).

The final chapter plays a game of ‘Trading Places’ and speculates how a Neanderthal might fare in our modern world, and how a modern human in theirs. Wynn and Coolidge suggest that Neanderthals would do well in our world, and would excel as doctors, mechanics or soldiers. On the other hand, they suggest that a modern human would struggle to make a go of Neanderthal living.

The demise of the Neanderthals is covered fairly briefly. The arrival of modern humans in Ice Age Europe is viewed from the Neanderthal perspective. It is surmised that the end came when the climate began to deteriorate 30,000 years ago. This had happened before, and the Neanderthals had able to cope – but now they had competition. The modern humans were more adaptable and inventive when it came to finding new sources of food and developing new hunting methods. The Neanderthals retreated south to the Iberian Peninsula, where they held out for a while, but in the end they died out.

Wynn and Coolidge suggest that the Neanderthals may survive as dim cultural memories. Possibly some European folk traditions have their origins in ancient encounters with Neanderthals. More plausibly, they also suggest that our enduring fascination with the Neanderthals is that they were humans who led very different lives to ourselves, yet were still somehow like us. The Neanderthals live on as “inexact mirrors of ourselves”, Wynn and Coolidge conclude.

How to think like a Neandertal, by Thomas Wynn and Frederick Coolidge is published in the USA by Oxford University Press © 2012

Comment on Villa & Roebroeks (2014) ‘An Archaeological Analysis of the Modern Human Superiority Complex’.

A paper by Paola Villa and Wil Roebroeks ( 1) in the open access journal PLOS ONE has reviewed archaeological evidence for the view that the ‘inferiority’ of Neanderthals to modern humans was responsible for their demise. See this post for a quick summary.

Villa and Roebroeks are critical of view that comparisons between the archaeological records of the African Middle Stone Age and European Middle Palaeolithic can be used to demonstrate that Neanderthals were ‘inferior’ to modern humans in terms of a wide range of cognitive and technological abilities, and have made a very good case.

However, they seem to be dismissive of the impact of what they describe as ‘subtle biological differences’ between Neanderthals and modern humans, which they state ‘tend to be overinterpreted’. They cite Pearce, Stringer and Dunbar (2013) as an example.

Pearce, Stringer and Dunbar used eye socket size as a proxy for the size of the eye itself and showed that Neanderthals had larger eyes than modern humans. This is not an unexpected result; living at high latitudes, Neanderthals experienced lower light levels than people living in the tropics, and larger eyes might have been an evolutionary response. The consequence is that in comparison to a modern human brain, a greater proportion of the Neanderthal brain might have needed to be dedicated to the visual cortex, with the trade-off that less was available for other cognitive functions. Pearce, Stringer and Dunbar suggested that Neanderthals were less able than modern humans to maintain the complex social networks required to manage long-distance trade networks effectively, and learn about the existence of distant foraging areas unaffected by local shortages. Furthermore, their ability to develop and pass on innovations might have been limited in comparison to modern humans ( 2).

On a less subtle level, it is only to be expected that the neural organisation of the Neanderthal brain would have differed from that of modern humans. The globular brain case of Homo sapiens differs from the long, low braincase that characterised archaic human species, including Neanderthals, and the change reflects a change in the actual proportions of the brain. In comparison to archaic humans, the parietal lobes of modern humans are expanded, and these are associated with the processing of speech-related sounds ( 3, 4). It is possible that their development played a role in the development of syntactic language in Homo sapiens and that Neanderthals used different and partially non-verbal forms of communication ( 5).

While Villa and Roebroeks have demonstrated the risks of over-reliance on archaeological evidence, the biological differences between Neanderthals and modern humans are real. These differences must be included within a holistic approach to understanding the cognitive abilities of the Neanderthals, who as we now know are far from extinct in that they live on in the genome of modern populations.

References:

1. Villa, P. & Roebroeks, W., Neandertal Demise: An Archaeological Analysis of the Modern Human Superiority Complex. PLoS One 9 (4), e96424 (2014).
2. Pearce, E., Stringer, C. & Dunbar, R., New insights into differences in brain organization between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 280 (1758) (2013).
3. Wynn, T. & Coolidge, F., in Rethinking the human revolution, edited by Mellars, P., Boyle, K., Bar-Yosef, O. & Stringer, C. (McDonald Institute, Cambridge, 2007), pp. 79-90.
4. Coolidge, F. & Wynn, T., The Rise of Homo sapiens (Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, NJ, 2009).
5. Mithen, S., The Singing Neanderthal (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London, 2005).