I thoroughly enjoyed this article. As a child hearing about Neanderthals and their description as smaller, slower, and more dimwitted, I have always felt that they have been underestimated, not because I had any insight. It is just that I could never figure out how anyone whether they were a paleontologist or other expert could know this. If you have no records or substantial fossil and societal evidence what can you know? The author's defense and recognition of this long misunderstood and underestimated "people" is heartwarming, at least to me.
41
How about this idea? "The Real Housewives of the Neanderthal Caves!"
Why the humans who theorize about behavioral science are always so surprised by human behavior, I'll never know.
Why the humans who theorize about behavioral science are always so surprised by human behavior, I'll never know.
14
Let me "mansplain" y'all...that this is one of the most obnoxious and
condescending pieces I've ever come upon. Somehow it didn't tell
me much, if anything, I already didn't know and just increased my
layman's curiosity about what really happened. In many ways it's as condescending to both human species, especially as we both share
some of the same DNA.
condescending pieces I've ever come upon. Somehow it didn't tell
me much, if anything, I already didn't know and just increased my
layman's curiosity about what really happened. In many ways it's as condescending to both human species, especially as we both share
some of the same DNA.
12
Super writing. Especially liked the parallels of us and them: human and neanderthals, Spain and Britain in Gibraltar, elites versus the non-elites. All different, and yet the same. Lovely!
29
What a great piece. Thank you
15
Reality imitates fiction: See Planet of the Apes, 1968, Dr. Zaius in the cave scene.
4
A fee more pictures would help a lot. Not of the museum director standing on a rock, but of that Neanderthal sculpture that is described in detail.
https://mobile.twitter.com/gibraltarmuseum/status/730053944748216321
Or the Kennis brothers:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/natureplus/servlet/JiveServlet/showImage/38-3428-65...
Why are newspapers ashamed to use pictures from the web?
https://mobile.twitter.com/gibraltarmuseum/status/730053944748216321
Or the Kennis brothers:
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/natureplus/servlet/JiveServlet/showImage/38-3428-65...
Why are newspapers ashamed to use pictures from the web?
19
This is a beautiful piece illustrating our past. Thank you!
16
Among the disappointments of this story is that we get so little on why Neanderthals disappeared . I suspect that we Homo Sapiens ate them up just like we gobbled up the other large fauna we encountered when moving out of Africa. So while we might like to imagine kumbaya moments shared by another branch of the human family, the interesting question is what is the real nature of the animal who dominates the planet today.
11
Gee, there are a lot of NYT readers that just seem to be picking a fight with everything. I think Donald Trump's mania has infested the public. And I really mean infested.
51
Did the author get paid by the word? Was he not given enough time to shorten it?Was the editor asleep at the wheel? What a craptacularly bloated and overlong piece. Self contradictory as well. He demeans scientists for making unsubstantiated claims...and then proceeds to do so himself. Since this is the most popular story today, perhaps the NYT can assign a professional to do a better job on a very interesting subject.
19
The picture on the cover is interesting. I hope the feathers are not from killing an eagle--that's a felony. Its brown skin tells me it is a Puerto Rican. His arms crossed and muscles tight tell me it is an aboriginal. Its nose makes me think of European extract. Its hair reminds me of a cross between white and afro. It's lips remind me of good kissers. Its breast reminds me of man boobs or a woman who breast feeds the kids. As a whole ,this is a great composite of the melting pot called America.
10
Many here had speculated about those who gave a few percent Neanderthal DNA - Eurasians - and those "pure" humans from sub-Saharan Africa. People should be careful about these things, and others need to ignore such speculations, because first of all, they are just speculstins, but also because such speculations can and will lead to which races are "more evolved" - and that can go either way. It's a dangerous trap that people have fallen into ever since Darwin published the Evolution of the species. He, in fact, warned against such unfounded and unsupported speculations.
11
What I have read elsewhere is that inbreeding did the most damage to the Neanderthals. They were isolated in small groups during the ice ages, and could not sustain their populations.
10
The top half of my scull looks totally neanderthal.
12
If I remember correctly, my Meanderthal* ancestors said that we had a number of technical SNAFUs when we transitioned from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age and into the Iron Age. Why can't we recognize that the course of human development never runs smoothly?
*Meanderthal - one whose attitude and behavior strongly imply that his Darwinian-man ancestor unfolded himself considerably more gradually than most during their evolutionary ascents!
*Meanderthal - one whose attitude and behavior strongly imply that his Darwinian-man ancestor unfolded himself considerably more gradually than most during their evolutionary ascents!
5
Measles and smallpox killed whole Native American tribes; it is possible that, upon contact with "us", deadly contagious illnesses devastated the Neanderthals as well.
26
Very interesting study and reflections, brightly written. Clearly Neanderthals have been the mirror for all those aberrant misconceptions about races, some being superiors other inferiors. Of course White race has been always superior to others. Then, what makes White race even superior to other less white races? Of course blond hair and blue eyes, isn't it? So, what could be enough intriguing would be ultimately discovering that those particular 'attributes' of superiority come from Neanderthal genes. In fact Neanderthals lived in Europe 100 thousands years before modern humans, they adapted to cold and prolonged winters becoming White with clear hair and eyes. And modern humans were more of what we see today from Southern Europe and Middle East.
15
Moral of the story. Don't rely on the judgments of a hominid by another, especially those who "discover" them. Look at what that did to all natives peoples around the world when the white-man "discovered" them and quickly dismissed them as less than human.
Our first reactions to other hominids is typically wrong...off the charts wrong...
Our first reactions to other hominids is typically wrong...off the charts wrong...
17
Wonderful writing and so interesting.
What a joy to read something other than Trump.
What a joy to read something other than Trump.
35
I enjoyed reading this, but the author is apparently not aware of a lot of information that shows the relationship between Neanderthals and H. sapiens is really a lot more nuanced than most let on.
1. Evidence shows that Neanderthals and H. sapiens "struggled" for control of the Levant for tens of thousands of years. Sites in Israel for example, show alternating occupations of Neanderthals and H. sapiens over long periods of time. It dispels the simplistic assertion that Neanderthals disappeared when H. sapiens showed up and shows it took H. sapiens a while to be able to successfully compete with Neanderthals.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/03/0305_0307_neandertal.html
2. H. sapiens learned and adapted technology invented by Neanderthals. The quirky Levallois lithic reduction technique invented by Neanderthals appears to have been adopted by H. sapiens and diffused south into Africa.
3. As a further correction to 19th and 20th century stereotypes - the genetic evidence now seems to show that the *primitive* Neanderthals were light skinned with reddish/blondish hair and greenish eyes while the *advanced* H. sapiens moving into Europe had swarthy skin, dark hair and dark eyes.
1. Evidence shows that Neanderthals and H. sapiens "struggled" for control of the Levant for tens of thousands of years. Sites in Israel for example, show alternating occupations of Neanderthals and H. sapiens over long periods of time. It dispels the simplistic assertion that Neanderthals disappeared when H. sapiens showed up and shows it took H. sapiens a while to be able to successfully compete with Neanderthals.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/03/0305_0307_neandertal.html
2. H. sapiens learned and adapted technology invented by Neanderthals. The quirky Levallois lithic reduction technique invented by Neanderthals appears to have been adopted by H. sapiens and diffused south into Africa.
3. As a further correction to 19th and 20th century stereotypes - the genetic evidence now seems to show that the *primitive* Neanderthals were light skinned with reddish/blondish hair and greenish eyes while the *advanced* H. sapiens moving into Europe had swarthy skin, dark hair and dark eyes.
16
Re 3. I know a well-built man with a reddish/blond hair who is very energetic and competitive and who promised to make this nation Great Again!
So the story that the N- had disappeared from among us is but the latest example of the so-called "fake news" or better yet "neanderthal news"!
So the story that the N- had disappeared from among us is but the latest example of the so-called "fake news" or better yet "neanderthal news"!
10
Green eyes, red hair & dechromation from Heidelberg onward seems de rigueur, considering weak insolation in what Romans called Ultima Thule.
3
We make stuff up. The older I get the less I know for sure. I am not reaching senility, I am getting smarter and more open minded and see how much of what we "know" is a guess or partially true. Just stop and think about the little critters that live on your eyelashes. That alone is mind blowing in a country obsessed with antimicrobial sprays and hand sanitizer. I wonder if the upper lid eyelashes microbes are the same as the lower lid eyelashes microbes? Wouldn't that be interesting to know.
15
Not sure those critters in our eyelashes are considered "microbes" but they "mite" be.
22
Maybe you're both right--Molly is thinking of Demodex follicle mites, but don't bacteria live all over our skin too?
6
Hummm you have Spanish speaking and English speaking students working side by side with little interaction? Vry disturbing? Are foreign languages no longer required? Is there no desire to learn how to communicate? I thought all EU non=English speaking students were being taught English in school beginning in 3rd or 4th grade. I have long known the English to be total snobs in many cases in terms of curiosity about cultures that don't speak English. (Americans are different.) Homo sapiens vs. Neanderthals. I am rather sure they did not initially speak a common language. So glad that they did interbreed!
Pitiable to say the least. (PS Spanish is relatively easy to learn so far as the grammatical structures-- after that it's vocab.. as in all languages .. and there are many cognates!)
Pitiable to say the least. (PS Spanish is relatively easy to learn so far as the grammatical structures-- after that it's vocab.. as in all languages .. and there are many cognates!)
2
While I found the entire article fascinating, I am most interested in the "hashtag." As an artist, I am of course attracted to the art hypothesis, but have a much more prosaic idea: a matrix for the purpose mathematical calculation or division of food or resources. Unfortunately, the article does not have an image of the matrix, or show its dimensions (I found images elsewhere). I would suggest that art would have been on the wall (although a Neanderthal conceptual artist might put it on a platform). The less likely explanation is: "Here is the chair of the head of the clan." Perhaps it's the 2% of my Neanderthal DNA that suggests a matrix.
3
The article is confusing n the point of whether Humans and Neanderthals are the same species. It indicates they are, but then says they have separate origins, and their genes are distinct in our genome. I have read elsewhere that the consensus in now that they are separate species. How separate?
3
Species are either separate or they are not. Tigers and lions are separate species but they can be bred in zoos. Ditto: horses and donkeys yield mules. However, I agree that the article is confusing on the distinctions between humans and Neanderthals. It is more of a meditation on diversity sprinkled with paleontological metaphors. Neanderthals almost assuredly spoke, but could their languages translate fully into the Human tongues? Did Neanderthals go through adolescence? Some questions are still out there but not even hinted at in this essay's meanderings.
4
I don't believe that author has made his case about the similarity of Modern Humans and Neanderthals. Granted, the tainted and ethnocentric views of Neanderthals over the past 100 years deserve de-bunking and reassessment. The two indicia of similarity to which he points are tentative at best--pollen in a grave site and some scratches in a cave. Compare that with the explosion of culture at the same time from Modern Humans. The author explains this disparity based upon the lack of a critical mass of population among the Neanderthals. Maybe, but his assumption that but for the absence of this critical mass we would see similar cultural progress is arguably just as unsupported and speculative as the earlier claims of sub-human traits of these people.
2
Wonderful essay. An excellent example of old Francis Bacon's classic essay, "The Four Idols"
4
Once homo sapiens reached Europe they would have been subject to the same climate uncertainty that the Neanderthals had had to deal with for millenia. So unless the author (and the science) is proposing some sort of continuous population resupply process from African sources it also seems as though H.S. & Ns would have shared the same boat.
Most troubling for the author's "overwhelmed" extinction hypothesis is that it still wouldn't account for the total annihilation of the Neanderthal population, which is known to have been so exceedingly adaptable. That adaptability is certified by their long-term ability to survive the high variability of the European climate. Ns and H.S.s would have occupied the same ecological niche, so if H.S.s survived then the niche must have survived, and it should have been adequate to support a low population of Neanderthals too, unless...
So this is in effect an ancient crime scene. The absence of skeletons is intriguing. Here's a question not posed or answered in the essay: among all the Neanderthal skeletons found so far throughout Europe, how many exhibit signs of violence, either pre-mortem or causal? Could the real problem of the Neanderthals' have been that they simply fell behind in the race to invent and perfect violence? Who then were the real savages here?
Most troubling for the author's "overwhelmed" extinction hypothesis is that it still wouldn't account for the total annihilation of the Neanderthal population, which is known to have been so exceedingly adaptable. That adaptability is certified by their long-term ability to survive the high variability of the European climate. Ns and H.S.s would have occupied the same ecological niche, so if H.S.s survived then the niche must have survived, and it should have been adequate to support a low population of Neanderthals too, unless...
So this is in effect an ancient crime scene. The absence of skeletons is intriguing. Here's a question not posed or answered in the essay: among all the Neanderthal skeletons found so far throughout Europe, how many exhibit signs of violence, either pre-mortem or causal? Could the real problem of the Neanderthals' have been that they simply fell behind in the race to invent and perfect violence? Who then were the real savages here?
9
Here's a question not posed or answered in the essay: among all the Neanderthal skeletons found so far throughout Europe, how many exhibit signs of violence, either pre-mortem or causal?
==================
Very many do. Plus there appears to be evidence of Neanderthal on Neanderthal cannibalism.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1943960.stm
==================
Very many do. Plus there appears to be evidence of Neanderthal on Neanderthal cannibalism.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1943960.stm
4
At the Fremont museum in Utah, we heard an anthropologist speak about cut marks found on broken-up human bones in the American Southwest, and she made a strong case that human bones were sometimes completely broken up as a way to destroy an enemy, but not for food--no evidence for cooking. Since then I've been more skeptical about claims for cannibalism.
1
Perhaps "ill-educated Neanderthals" was a quote directed at someone pro Brexit, without any of the self satisfying smugness or superiority attributed to Ms. Hurley but confessed to by the author. Inevitably human indeed.
3
The evidence of Neanderthal DNA within modern humans is quite apparent during my daily commute to work.
17
Please hand delivery and read out loud slowly to VP elect Pence, the man who don't care much for science.
6
"No living humans had skeletal features remotely like these, but King was under the impression that the skulls of contemporary African and Australian aboriginals resembled the Neanderthals’ more than “ordinary” white-people skulls. So extrapolating from his low opinion of what he called these “savage” races, he explained that the Neanderthal’s skull alone was proof of its moral “darkness” and stupidity."
----------------------
On the other hand, it's very interesting that the rehabilitation of the Neanderthals seems to have began as soon as it was discovered that white people have a higher percentage of Neanderthal blood than other races...
----------------------
On the other hand, it's very interesting that the rehabilitation of the Neanderthals seems to have began as soon as it was discovered that white people have a higher percentage of Neanderthal blood than other races...
16
Loved the bit about the silverware drawer.
1
Excellent article, thank you. Interbreeding and retaining segments of DNA from a common ancestral line are different phenomena. Any conclusions should be tentative.
3
Wondering why you neglected the cover artwork from the online Magazine? It is excellent. I was surprised not to see it.
One thing is clear, our president elect has an abundance of Neanderthal genes. Probably will make him extinct also-along with a large population of Homo sapiens.
5
For an intelligent, sympathetic take on Neanderthal Man, read The Inheritors, by William Golding. Lok and Fa are truly man and woman. We grieve for them when they encounter the "new people."
2
Interpretation of the past, present, and future is inevitably influenced by personal and cultural bias.
1
I am not surprised that Mr. Mooallem "had no idea what Gibraltar was" and that his point of reference was that of the Prudential logo. His ignorance of basic geography is similar to most who believe that "America" is the name of our country when in fact "America" is a continent divided by three.
1- North America which comprises of three countries: Canada, the United States, and Mexico; 2- Central America is comprised of six countries, one of which is Panama; and 3- South America formed by nine countries, one of which is Brazil. This is the same ignorance of most who believe that Africa is a country, rather than a continent comprised by many countries.
The above reminds that there is no adjective to describe those born in the United States, so US citizen fits perfectly rather than the common misnomer "American." In fact, we are not the only ones; every citizen of Canada to those who inhabit the southern tip of Chile/Argentina -- in South America -- are ever bit of an American as those of us who are citizens of the United States.
At any rate, I want to believe that if the writer had a basic knowledge of world geography, along the way he would have stumbled upon Gibraltar.
1- North America which comprises of three countries: Canada, the United States, and Mexico; 2- Central America is comprised of six countries, one of which is Panama; and 3- South America formed by nine countries, one of which is Brazil. This is the same ignorance of most who believe that Africa is a country, rather than a continent comprised by many countries.
The above reminds that there is no adjective to describe those born in the United States, so US citizen fits perfectly rather than the common misnomer "American." In fact, we are not the only ones; every citizen of Canada to those who inhabit the southern tip of Chile/Argentina -- in South America -- are ever bit of an American as those of us who are citizens of the United States.
At any rate, I want to believe that if the writer had a basic knowledge of world geography, along the way he would have stumbled upon Gibraltar.
2
His ignorance of basic geography is similar to most who believe that "America" is the name of our country when in fact "America" is a continent divided by three.
=================
Well of course you can put that on us, but I always find it amusing that I had friends that are natives of the UK, who invariably say when they visit our country that they are coming to America
=================
Well of course you can put that on us, but I always find it amusing that I had friends that are natives of the UK, who invariably say when they visit our country that they are coming to America
3
.... I agree, and as well, I also have British relatives and friends who, ignorantly, refer to our nation as "America" rather that the United State. But I always reply, just like UK is the acronym for the United Kingdom, US is the acronym for the United States. Furthermore, I always clarify that we gain our independence from -- hello -- the United Kingdom.
In Addition, "America" the continent, was named in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. And yes, he was Italian.
In Addition, "America" the continent, was named in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. And yes, he was Italian.
1
Asked whether the Neanderthals were people, one famous paleontologist said, "I don't know, but I am sure they would be allowed to vote."
4
Scientists admit underestimating the true human nature of Neanderthals. Along the same line, perhaps Americans did not make the same mistake in the last election.
3
Thank you for this wonderfully interesting and penetrating article.
2
Current scientific appreciation of Neanderthals, forms part of an ongoing reappraisal of intelligence, communication and emotional composition throughout our entire biosphere . Soon it seems, previously low-balled crows and octopuses, will rightfully appear on "Jeopardy".
One could only imagine what the Cro-magnons said when first sighting the Neanderthals...."The single most important thing we want to achieve is for Neanderthal to be a one epoch subspecies.".
Any Neanderthals reading this long, long article would be appreciative but think that it would benefit from tighter editing.
One could only imagine what the Cro-magnons said when first sighting the Neanderthals...."The single most important thing we want to achieve is for Neanderthal to be a one epoch subspecies.".
Any Neanderthals reading this long, long article would be appreciative but think that it would benefit from tighter editing.
Captivating topic . . . so well written and it certainly held my interest. I would appreciate seeing more photos, especially those that the brothers used to create their sculptures.
As for Gibraltar, I am always flummoxed when I speak with people who have visited there and never entered into the rock to see the huge and impressive concert space within the rock. My guess is that most tourists stop for a very short visit on a cruise ship excursion.
As for Gibraltar, I am always flummoxed when I speak with people who have visited there and never entered into the rock to see the huge and impressive concert space within the rock. My guess is that most tourists stop for a very short visit on a cruise ship excursion.
4
Why did the author stop at British and Spanish rulers when mentioning the history of Gibraltar? Was that another kind of superiority hubris preventing to mention the young Muslim General, Tariq, who the mount has been named after?
Gibraltar comes from "Gabal" and 'Tariq", meaning "Mount of Tariq". I will leave it to the author and other readers to explore why it was named as such.
Gibraltar comes from "Gabal" and 'Tariq", meaning "Mount of Tariq". I will leave it to the author and other readers to explore why it was named as such.
5
Was that another kind of superiority hubris preventing to mention the young Muslim General, Tariq, who the mount has been named after?
===============
But then you would also have your superiority hubris because for thousands of years before Islam appeared that feature was known as "The Pillars of Hercules"
===============
But then you would also have your superiority hubris because for thousands of years before Islam appeared that feature was known as "The Pillars of Hercules"
5
Yes, the glorious aggression of Islam against Christendom which began nearly four centuries before the "Crusades" and continues up to the present.
Yes, the fact that Islam still claims Spain and Portugal to this day as part of the precious Umma; yes the fact that bin Laden was obsessed with Al Andalus; yes, the fact that but for Karl the Hammer (Charles Martel) and his Frankish knights at the Battle of Tours (also called the Battle of Poitiers) in 732 AD (C.E.) Europe would have fallen to the Muslim armies and we today would not be studying evolutionary theory and debating hypotheses about human origins but would be speaking Arabic and praying five times daily towards Mecca.
I think the last thing we need is your imperialism, Ahmed.
Yes, the fact that Islam still claims Spain and Portugal to this day as part of the precious Umma; yes the fact that bin Laden was obsessed with Al Andalus; yes, the fact that but for Karl the Hammer (Charles Martel) and his Frankish knights at the Battle of Tours (also called the Battle of Poitiers) in 732 AD (C.E.) Europe would have fallen to the Muslim armies and we today would not be studying evolutionary theory and debating hypotheses about human origins but would be speaking Arabic and praying five times daily towards Mecca.
I think the last thing we need is your imperialism, Ahmed.
2
too often we look down with disdain rather than gratitude and up with admiration rather than suspicion.
5
Dogs are human too.
8
Now what disparaging epithet am I going to call those idiots down the street?
12
It seems there is a general divide in human nature – type A continues to believe that survival depends on destroying all that challenge them and their way of thinking (all and everything are inferior to homo sapiens), and type B trying to break through an evolutionary road block to become a more peaceful species, in step with each other and nature, as the Native Americans seemed to be working at before type A wreaked infamous havoc. Type Bs have a much more difficult and slower process because it requires research and reasoning and explanation, whereas type A is usually quick brute force.
That Mooallem ended with a reference to the election is fitting as our president-elect represents the white supremacy conviction of many of his followers/supporters who seem to have no regard for research like Mooallem’s or the fact that all living things are inter-dependent, and who will continue to foster type A mentality. This is one reason so many of us are devastated by what seems like a huge step backwards, undoing just about everything worked for in the past 50 or more years. If in the end the As are the survivors (and history seems to be on their side), they will also, no doubt, be a major player in the 6th extinction.
That Mooallem ended with a reference to the election is fitting as our president-elect represents the white supremacy conviction of many of his followers/supporters who seem to have no regard for research like Mooallem’s or the fact that all living things are inter-dependent, and who will continue to foster type A mentality. This is one reason so many of us are devastated by what seems like a huge step backwards, undoing just about everything worked for in the past 50 or more years. If in the end the As are the survivors (and history seems to be on their side), they will also, no doubt, be a major player in the 6th extinction.
5
It seems there is a general divide in human nature – type A continues to believe that survival depends on destroying all that challenge them and their way of thinking (all and everything are inferior to homo sapiens), and type B trying to break through an evolutionary road block to become a more peaceful species, in step with each other and nature, as the Native Americans seemed to be working at before type A wreaked infamous havoc.
=====================
This is completely incorrect. All archaeological evidence shows that prehistoric Native American cultures were at least as violent and warlike as any living in the old world.
See:
Lawrence Keeley - "War Before Civilization"
Steven LeBlanc et al. - "Constant Battles"
=====================
This is completely incorrect. All archaeological evidence shows that prehistoric Native American cultures were at least as violent and warlike as any living in the old world.
See:
Lawrence Keeley - "War Before Civilization"
Steven LeBlanc et al. - "Constant Battles"
6
Understood. Some of them were savages, so the stress should have been more on their understanding of the interconnectedness of all living things and respect for the earth. My perspective was not meant to be scientific.
2
The article mentions that the hashtag ledge makes a perfect bench, and that the two of you just naturally found yourselves sitting next to it. It's also by the fire, and fire gives not only heat, but light. Any chance the hashtag is a game board?
4
an excellent metaphoric novel related to this article is "gift of stones' by jim crace a tale of a flint working culture being over taken by a metal working culture short and beautifully written
3
I loved the article and am glad the author chose to write from a personal point of view. By openly admitting to his ignorance, I read the article with more open acknowledgement of my own.
Homo neanderthalensis are thought to have originated between 250,000 to 200,000 years ago. Homo sapiens originated between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago. So, they persisted from roughly 225,000 to 40,000 years ago, i.e. 185,000 years. We have persisted from roughly 150,000 years ago to the present. Will H. sapiens manage to match them by surviving another 35,000 years? I wonder...
Homo neanderthalensis are thought to have originated between 250,000 to 200,000 years ago. Homo sapiens originated between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago. So, they persisted from roughly 225,000 to 40,000 years ago, i.e. 185,000 years. We have persisted from roughly 150,000 years ago to the present. Will H. sapiens manage to match them by surviving another 35,000 years? I wonder...
3
Fascinating article, thanks.
1
If one studies the distribution of Neanderthal's genes in the modern human genome it seems that they are widely distributed across ours. In some ways a large chunk of a Neanderthal is alive and well but scattered about all of us. I have about 2.5 percent, my wife a little less than 2 but the locations in our chromosomes are different.
4
By the way I am O negative and a universal blood donor.
1
East Asians followed by Europeans have the highest percent of Neanderthal admixture. These population's lighter skin tone also comes from that Neanderthal genetic inheritance.
Penguins evolved (devolved) from an ancestor that could fly; so did kiwis, emus and ostriches...
The ancestor of modern bison was taller, bigger, than present day ones...
To make a long story short... what are the possibilities that Europeans, Africans, Asians, Australian aborigenes, Pygmies, Eskimos (Inuits), Neanderthals, Denisovans, Cro-Magnons, etc have evolved (devolved) from a more perfect (genetically richer) human ancestor? For argument's sake, let's call them Adam and Eve! and that their offsprings adapted to its environment?
From the article it seems that past depictions of Neanderthals was strongly based on the individual persuasion of each individual "anthropologist" than actual "science"! I propose that what we have here is not evolution, but "de-evolution", with some human groups (its genetics) going extinct and others populating; modern example: today's "Swede" (its genetics) will be extinct in a generation or two!
The ancestor of modern bison was taller, bigger, than present day ones...
To make a long story short... what are the possibilities that Europeans, Africans, Asians, Australian aborigenes, Pygmies, Eskimos (Inuits), Neanderthals, Denisovans, Cro-Magnons, etc have evolved (devolved) from a more perfect (genetically richer) human ancestor? For argument's sake, let's call them Adam and Eve! and that their offsprings adapted to its environment?
From the article it seems that past depictions of Neanderthals was strongly based on the individual persuasion of each individual "anthropologist" than actual "science"! I propose that what we have here is not evolution, but "de-evolution", with some human groups (its genetics) going extinct and others populating; modern example: today's "Swede" (its genetics) will be extinct in a generation or two!
3
I have long suspected that Neanderthals might actually have been smarter than the humans who moved north eons later and then interbred with them. Why do I think this? I think this because the harsh, coldness of the north reqires a hairless creature to have some increased intelligence in order to survive. They would have had to have learned to use fire, and to retain body warmth with pelts. They would have had to make killing tools in order to get those pelts. Any who were not smart enough to do these things very effiviently would have died in the harsh winters. Only the smartest would have survived to pass on their genes. Over many generations his had to have selected for intelligence in their gene pool. After eons of this selective pressure, they were likely smarter than those humans who moved north much later on. Another selective pressure of cold would be for a more active immune system to compensate for the fact that cold tends to suppress the immune system.
Recent gene testing at 23 and Me shows I have more Neanderthal genes than 98% of the population. My IQ is 140. I also have an overactive immune system, unfortunately, resulting multiple autoimmune diseases. But I hardly ever get colds - maybe once every 5 years.
Recent gene testing at 23 and Me shows I have more Neanderthal genes than 98% of the population. My IQ is 140. I also have an overactive immune system, unfortunately, resulting multiple autoimmune diseases. But I hardly ever get colds - maybe once every 5 years.
5
and they took care of their sick.
6
This article is beautiful storytelling weaving a modern theme with fascinating elements of science and philosophy, and personal experience and discovery, in a moving and evocative way. Thanks NYT
4
As an amateur anthropologist, and very interested in our "cousins", there was something significant missing. That these cousins apparently never developed the technology of the bow. And arrow. That their hunters needed to get up close and personal with their quarry. Thrusting spears into the body.
Injuries and death were common to the Neanderthal hunters. The bones show this to be the case.
I want to take issue with the writer's statement that "1-2% of DNA worldwide is Neanderthal." My paraphrase. No, it's that only in Europeans and their descendants.
Best as I know, anyway.
Injuries and death were common to the Neanderthal hunters. The bones show this to be the case.
I want to take issue with the writer's statement that "1-2% of DNA worldwide is Neanderthal." My paraphrase. No, it's that only in Europeans and their descendants.
Best as I know, anyway.
2
As an amateur anthropologist, and very interested in our "cousins", there was something significant missing. That these cousins apparently never developed the technology of the bow. And arrow. That their hunters needed to get up close and personal with their quarry. Thrusting spears into the body.
========================
As a professional archaeologist, I can tell you that as far as we know, you are correct about the invention of the bow and arrow, which is estimated to have been invented about 16,000 years ago in Eurasia.
But for tens of thousands of years prior to that, H. sapiens at least, used the spear-thrower or atlatl. That does give you a stand-off weapon capability, though not with the force or range of bow and arrow.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spear-thrower
Don't know if there is any evidence that Neanderthals used atlatls, but until pretty recently we hadn't found evidence that they made art either
========================
As a professional archaeologist, I can tell you that as far as we know, you are correct about the invention of the bow and arrow, which is estimated to have been invented about 16,000 years ago in Eurasia.
But for tens of thousands of years prior to that, H. sapiens at least, used the spear-thrower or atlatl. That does give you a stand-off weapon capability, though not with the force or range of bow and arrow.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spear-thrower
Don't know if there is any evidence that Neanderthals used atlatls, but until pretty recently we hadn't found evidence that they made art either
6
What or who is 'Call Me Maybe'?
1
But were they deplorable?
5
This was a thoroughly engrossing read, and a subject which has interested me for years. I often reflect on the prevalence in old European myths and stories, such as Grimm's Fairy Tales, of the "troll" hiding under the bridge or in the woods, a creature to be feared and disdained for its primitive appearance and brutish manner. Could these constitute a sort of collective memory of a time in early history when Neanderthals lived among populations of Homo Sapiens in Europe? It seemed obvious to me, though after reading this piece, I daresay nothing should be obvious.
2
I often reflect on the prevalence in old European myths and stories, such as Grimm's Fairy Tales, of the "troll" hiding under the bridge or in the woods, a creature to be feared and disdained for its primitive appearance and brutish manner. Could these constitute a sort of collective memory of a time in early history when Neanderthals lived among populations of Homo Sapiens in Europe?
=============
That is entirely possible, although the "Primitive appearance and brutish manner" may come from a H. sapiens "othering" of a competitor
There are a number of examples of Native American legends that many believe originate in extinct Pleistocene animals
- The common creature of the Thunderbird probably originated in the very large extinct condor and teratorn species of the Pleistocene
- Indians in the northeastern US have legends about a giant beaver. We know that there was a Pleistocene species of beaver as large as a modern black bear
- Indians in the upper Midwest and Plains have a large mythical creature often known as a water bull, that is though to be derived from extinct mammoths or mastodons
=============
That is entirely possible, although the "Primitive appearance and brutish manner" may come from a H. sapiens "othering" of a competitor
There are a number of examples of Native American legends that many believe originate in extinct Pleistocene animals
- The common creature of the Thunderbird probably originated in the very large extinct condor and teratorn species of the Pleistocene
- Indians in the northeastern US have legends about a giant beaver. We know that there was a Pleistocene species of beaver as large as a modern black bear
- Indians in the upper Midwest and Plains have a large mythical creature often known as a water bull, that is though to be derived from extinct mammoths or mastodons
3
Mr. Mooallem may avoid seeming "self-righteous, or as pointing fingers" but he is certainly presentist and reductionist, This makes for bad history of science. It would be far better to point out that there has been remarkable disagreement about the interpretation of Neanderthal skeletal and archaeological remains from the very beginning. King expressed just one of many points of view in his day. While the more common view of Neanderthals has shifted back an forth--from members of our species to extinct subhumans--it takes a very narrow reading to the literature to claim that there has been a consensus.
"Why did science get them so wrong?" It didn't. Various scientists--King, Keith and Boule among them, but also Virchow, Gregory and Strauss--produced various assessments and interpretations. Scientists continue to do so, using new data and new methods not available to our predecessors.
Mooallem's subtitle and tone feed the current antiscience rhetoric. That is irresponsible journalism.
--Della Collins Cook
"Why did science get them so wrong?" It didn't. Various scientists--King, Keith and Boule among them, but also Virchow, Gregory and Strauss--produced various assessments and interpretations. Scientists continue to do so, using new data and new methods not available to our predecessors.
Mooallem's subtitle and tone feed the current antiscience rhetoric. That is irresponsible journalism.
--Della Collins Cook
4
You lost me at "gently mansplained."
3
I suppose what we are wtnessing lately is that devolution is a possible outcome as well.
I did 23andme genetic analysis last year and found out I'm 5% Neanderthal, one of 23andme's highest recorded with only a few other clients higher. I'm American with pretty much 100% German ancestry (4th generation American on one side and 2nd on the other), and I think all the other high Neanderthal people analyzed still lived in Germany.
I was really freaked out by this at first emotionally, and shocked because I have very delicate features, the opposite of what we think of as Neanderthal. I'm also highly educated, with three masters degrees, the opposite of how we imagine Neanderthals. I'm still curious what makes me more Neanderthal than other people.
I do however have, from my mother, a strangely acute sense of smell. She could smell toast browning (not even burning) in a toaster from the opposite side of a massive 20,000 sq ft house, many many rooms and an entire floor away. I can smell if someone left crackers out on a counter earlier in the day even after they've put them away. It's kind of nuts and freaks people out sometimes. But because of my acute sense of smell I'm a good cook. That's the upside. The downside is I can't tolerate the smell of chemicals, which completely overwhelm me, for example I can smell from very far away if someone has used a commercial detergent to wash their clothes (and usually which one). I can only tolerate natural products that don't have any artificial fragrance added.
I was really freaked out by this at first emotionally, and shocked because I have very delicate features, the opposite of what we think of as Neanderthal. I'm also highly educated, with three masters degrees, the opposite of how we imagine Neanderthals. I'm still curious what makes me more Neanderthal than other people.
I do however have, from my mother, a strangely acute sense of smell. She could smell toast browning (not even burning) in a toaster from the opposite side of a massive 20,000 sq ft house, many many rooms and an entire floor away. I can smell if someone left crackers out on a counter earlier in the day even after they've put them away. It's kind of nuts and freaks people out sometimes. But because of my acute sense of smell I'm a good cook. That's the upside. The downside is I can't tolerate the smell of chemicals, which completely overwhelm me, for example I can smell from very far away if someone has used a commercial detergent to wash their clothes (and usually which one). I can only tolerate natural products that don't have any artificial fragrance added.
6
If Harold Lasswell was correct in saying "Politics is Who gets What, When and How, neither Neanderthals nor Homo Sapiens were "uncoupled from politics and history". Each small settlement had some form of organization. rules about the What, When and How. That is to say they practiced politics.
It's speculative but maybe there was even international politics. rules about how settlements of our two species related to each other, a prehistoric Westphalia, as it were. And these communities, like modern ones, were products of their history, even if they had no narratives.
It's speculative but maybe there was even international politics. rules about how settlements of our two species related to each other, a prehistoric Westphalia, as it were. And these communities, like modern ones, were products of their history, even if they had no narratives.
1
I agree. I read the passage twice and came to the conclusion that the author saw Neander as "simple-minded" because the young theologian attributed the beauty around him to the work of God. It turned what was an interesting side note to the article--how the valley got its name--into an awkward judgemental literary drive-by.
1
Why are they dirty and have messy hair? Seems to be well, racist, to portray then that way.
3
I see H. sapiens around me almost every day that are dirty and have messy hair. Actually, every day when I do field work, I am dirty and have messy hair by the end of the day. Does that make me racist when I look in the mirror?
4
Thank you for this wonderfully informative essay - so beautifully written! A master piece!
2
Dark skin with blue eyes - in artists' PC view, the Europeans of the distant past and possibly of the not too distant future.
2
http://kjohnsonnz.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/a-prehistoric-presence.html
Our myths about you are unflattering
That you were unchattered trolls
With quizzical protruding brows
Sitting around napping rough tools
So dim-witted you built nothing.
Now we have the square alone
No rivals since you've gone.
Truth is we just don’t know
About your songs and dreams
And what at times you may have seen
Your sense of right, your sense of love
Wonders at the stars light-stretched above.
And we are left to fight each other
With hands we bloodied on a distant brother.
Our myths about you are unflattering
That you were unchattered trolls
With quizzical protruding brows
Sitting around napping rough tools
So dim-witted you built nothing.
Now we have the square alone
No rivals since you've gone.
Truth is we just don’t know
About your songs and dreams
And what at times you may have seen
Your sense of right, your sense of love
Wonders at the stars light-stretched above.
And we are left to fight each other
With hands we bloodied on a distant brother.
9
BRAVO!!!!
1
Penguins evolved (devolved) from an ancestor that could fly; so did kiwis, emus and ostriches...
The ancestor of modern bison was taller, bigger, fiercer than present day ones.
To make a long story short... what are the possibilities that Europeans, Africans, Asians, Australian aborigenes, Pygmies, Eskimos (Inuits), Neanderthals, Denisovans, Cro-Magnons, etc have evolved (devolved) from a more perfect (genetically richer) human ancestor? that is, each group of humans adapted to its environment?
From the article it seems that past depictions of Neanderthals was strongly based on the individual persuasion of each individual "anthropologist" than actual "science"! As a bona fide "scientist" myself, I propose that what we have here is not evolution, but "de-evolution", with some human groups (its genetics) going extinct and others populating; modern example: today's "Swede" (its genetics) will be extinct in a generation or two!
The ancestor of modern bison was taller, bigger, fiercer than present day ones.
To make a long story short... what are the possibilities that Europeans, Africans, Asians, Australian aborigenes, Pygmies, Eskimos (Inuits), Neanderthals, Denisovans, Cro-Magnons, etc have evolved (devolved) from a more perfect (genetically richer) human ancestor? that is, each group of humans adapted to its environment?
From the article it seems that past depictions of Neanderthals was strongly based on the individual persuasion of each individual "anthropologist" than actual "science"! As a bona fide "scientist" myself, I propose that what we have here is not evolution, but "de-evolution", with some human groups (its genetics) going extinct and others populating; modern example: today's "Swede" (its genetics) will be extinct in a generation or two!
2
What a really nice piece of writing.
2
what a great article to lure us into this fascinating subject. I did not know 80% of this ancient history and didn't even know i was interested but the writer's witty and accessible style kept me going to the end and yes, now I do think it fascinating. also liked the contemporary parallels.
2
A subject so enticing, a shame it got swallowed by the author's self-consciousness.
6
So is the takeaway that Brexit people are racist deplorables?
Or that all us Fellow Homos are always spinning in indiscreet concentric clan Bigoted Daisychains circlejerking mutual humming contempt of "thank god, We better than Them."
Or that all us Fellow Homos are always spinning in indiscreet concentric clan Bigoted Daisychains circlejerking mutual humming contempt of "thank god, We better than Them."
5
Is our president-elect, Trump the Terrible, a person, too? I have serious doubts about that... Anyway, we "humans" are overrated, so hopefully awesome animals will be able to reclaim and restore the Earth's natural balance and harmony once we're all extinct. Dasvidanya evil people!
6
While the trend to "confess" shortcomings is popular and often viewed as oh-so-refreshing, I found it totally dispiriting that someone privileged to write for the NYT could display such total ignorance of basic international facts (Gibralter). Expected from the vast majority of Americans who are ill-served by a US-centric educational system and popular media but not a NYT feature writer.
And it only got worse. The writer's lack of comprehension for the tedious, time-consuming work involved in archeology and a total obliviousness to the historical milieu feeding the white supremicist bigotry in the late 19th/early 20th century leaves rhe reader with no confidence in this report.
Really, NYT?
And it only got worse. The writer's lack of comprehension for the tedious, time-consuming work involved in archeology and a total obliviousness to the historical milieu feeding the white supremicist bigotry in the late 19th/early 20th century leaves rhe reader with no confidence in this report.
Really, NYT?
2
Wonderfully told, a great piece of paleoanthropoliterature... I had a great time getting lost in your world reading it...
4
I am am teaching rage Big History Project to middle school students where we grapple with the questions such as...how and why theories become generally accepted and what makes us human? I found your article both profoundly moving and beautifully written and will incorporate it into my curriculum.
1
A great article. I think the whole "mansplaining" bit about Gibraltar could have been skipped because it didn't play as intended (with me at least -- made you sound arrogant and sexist even as you were attempting self-deprecation), but the rest was interesting and well-written.
3
H'mmm. not much help to explain why I knew Neanderthals were human. I would like to know when Neanderthals evolved into looking like Asians, and and Indian, and Latino, and black and white, etc.
1
Of course Neanderthals were human, and glad the author points this out clearly. However rather than the standard narrative that human history slowly evolved to be better, the Bible tells us that God created humans intelligent - the neanderthals were simply another tribe split off from the rest. As the article notes, innovation is often a product of population: equally if population drops by families or tribes splitting off from larger groups, some innovation will be lost and technologies forgotten due to lack of use, whether from inability to recreate the tech from lack of resources or because the tech is not useful in the new environment. So humans may have gone through stages of high technology before periods of 'Stone age tech' seen used by the Neanderthals.
1
I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written, insightful article. Describing the initial gap in his grasp of the geography around Gibraltar was a metaphor for the article's recurring theme - preconceptions about our history challenged and upset, again and again.
3
Interesting, but I would prefer more facts & less narrative.
6
Brilliant writing, really. On a fascinating topic. From "awe-struck and simple-minded" to the "unpopulated hunk of floating geology" and concluding with witty references to "round-headedness." Listen, this is a very smart and funny writer. A credit to our species.
3
The author properly chides us for our condescending attitude toward Neanderthals. I would chide him for displaying a similar condescension with his description of the God-praising hymn writer as "simple minded." I don't think he has enough evidence to make that condescending assessment.
5
It's hard to express the joy I felt in reading this. Not just because of the quality and humor of the piece but also because, as someone who has a very high 3.1% Neanderthal DNA in me, I feel so vindicated. My wife, how reluctantly, will have to admit that I am so much more than a "lost bow-legged Cossack with rickets." Thank you, Jon Mooallem. I leave the house now more confident, proud, and, er, upright.
5
National Geographic presented a much more credible and less "cutesy" account of the Neanderthals and other early pre-human anthropoids (such as Homo erecthus, which also lived in Spain) several years ago.
1
That the two species successfully mated makes "modern man" something of a hybrid.
2
One can understand how lower Neanderthal birthrates likely led to extinction. Extrapolate to present times. As non whites birthrates increase, white birth rates decrease. Replace or be displaced is how nature operates. Urgency is needed for whites to take heed and reproduce. Otherwise, it's all over..
2
Fascinating piece.
The author commences by pointing out the follies of faulty assumptions and forgone conclusions. Yet it seems to me, with 5 out of 5 thousand pieces of the jigsaw puzzle, that much of the rest of the article contains just such unconfirmed hypotheses and speculations.
How would one know that the number of Neanderthals in Eurasia were never sufficient to fill a football stadium? That they didn't know how to sew? How would we presume that they were less technologically advanced? The comparison would be with those who stayed behind in Africa in the same time frame, not those that emigrated later. Maybe they left Africa because they were more advanced and life was, as it is today, more dangerous on the "dark continent." Tropical diseases and the large animals were presumably more of a threat in Africa back then, much like today. Those same tropical diseases still ravage most of the continent today. Maybe the Neanderthals were actually smarter, possessing the desire and the know-how to escape.
Give me the hard science of the geneticists over the speculations of archaeologists and anthropologists and paleontologists gathered around the table staring at a grossly incomplete jigsaw puzzle any day.
The author commences by pointing out the follies of faulty assumptions and forgone conclusions. Yet it seems to me, with 5 out of 5 thousand pieces of the jigsaw puzzle, that much of the rest of the article contains just such unconfirmed hypotheses and speculations.
How would one know that the number of Neanderthals in Eurasia were never sufficient to fill a football stadium? That they didn't know how to sew? How would we presume that they were less technologically advanced? The comparison would be with those who stayed behind in Africa in the same time frame, not those that emigrated later. Maybe they left Africa because they were more advanced and life was, as it is today, more dangerous on the "dark continent." Tropical diseases and the large animals were presumably more of a threat in Africa back then, much like today. Those same tropical diseases still ravage most of the continent today. Maybe the Neanderthals were actually smarter, possessing the desire and the know-how to escape.
Give me the hard science of the geneticists over the speculations of archaeologists and anthropologists and paleontologists gathered around the table staring at a grossly incomplete jigsaw puzzle any day.
1
The small population size comes from recent genetic studies regarding gene variability.
If you understand French, there is a series of lectures on early hominids given by the paleoanthopologist Jean-Jacques Hublin on the College de France website.
If you understand French, there is a series of lectures on early hominids given by the paleoanthopologist Jean-Jacques Hublin on the College de France website.
1
What a blessing. Literature, science, and art melded together in a phantasmagoric picture of who we were, of who we might have been, and of who we will be. A great salve for our times.
1
I cannot understand why Mr. Mooallem derides Joachim Neander's hymns as "simple-minded". Certainly nothing in the examples he offers suggests it. "Simple-minded" is defined as "having or showing very little intelligence or judgment" So it's just a gratuitous slur on the poor awe-struck theologian. Quoting the humns in the first paragraph as if they were a key to understanding our ancestors and then knocking them as unsophisticated got the article off to an awkward start.
2
Would they find smoking guns from when Neanderthals were settling their disputes in ceremonial duels, like with our Alexander Hamilton? Perhaps the invention of the Electoral College is part of "neanderthal revenge" over the banal "low energy" human majority in big cities? And I can't help but realize that king Montezuma in ancient Mexico was a germophobe but did not share his knowledge with his people and let his nation perish for lack of robust foreign trade and immigration policies.
2
Trump supporters should count this article as validation of their humanity!
U.S. Modern humans are such a recent addition to the planet in terms of archeological time and really not much different than these early hominids, but we are convinced we are so advanced - advanced enough to spoil the planet for every other species, but not advanced enough to overcome violence, greed, gluttony and selfishness, so unique to Homo sapiens.
1
So before you succumb to that temptation to call some bloke a Neanderthal, take a good look in the mirror.
This is well written and I appreciate the introspective style. It was good to see Trinkaus in the spotlight in a few places as well as some other notable players.
I only raise a minor objection that, whereas perhaps Boule may have relied on his interpretation to "reconcile natural selection with religion", these comments were not made in a vacuum. The zeitgeist was at least as much about nationalism and empire building as it was ingrained prejudice and possibly reconciling one's beliefs. Any one or all of them may have come into play and were certainly supported by the culture at large.
At least some of us Christians do not need these narratives to prop up our faith. We accept evolution and our humbled place in the universe. We recognize that we are sinners in need of God's grace (to even get better), and these findings are further proof of this fact.
This is well written and I appreciate the introspective style. It was good to see Trinkaus in the spotlight in a few places as well as some other notable players.
I only raise a minor objection that, whereas perhaps Boule may have relied on his interpretation to "reconcile natural selection with religion", these comments were not made in a vacuum. The zeitgeist was at least as much about nationalism and empire building as it was ingrained prejudice and possibly reconciling one's beliefs. Any one or all of them may have come into play and were certainly supported by the culture at large.
At least some of us Christians do not need these narratives to prop up our faith. We accept evolution and our humbled place in the universe. We recognize that we are sinners in need of God's grace (to even get better), and these findings are further proof of this fact.
3
Warring or Loving, Slaves or rapists. Neanderthal in Spain. Cemetery found in Iraq. Tsunamis? Disease? Mysterious disappearances. I'm confused. I thoroughly enjoyed the article.
4
I just simply loved this article. I loved that Mooallem meandered all over the place, taking a side road to visit the fabulous Kennis twins and write about their life long obsession with Neanderthals, tying our "unfortunate human tendency to believe in ideas that are in reality incorrect" with the state of the human race on our planet right now.
As a young girl, child of a displaced people, one of my heroes was Ayla in "Clan of the Cave Bear", the inventor of almost everything, who birthed an abomination in her liaison with "Flatheads". She taught me the truth about the "Other" and finding my own truth about who I was outside conventional norms.
As we move more and more into our own existential crisis on this planet, we will are finding ourselves embroiled in the same us against them mentality that has bedeviled us time immemorial. Just look to what this "exceptional" nation is doing to itself at this very moment. - Tearing itself to bits exactly at the point when it could be uniting in common purpose to address what is really ailing it and the rest of the world.
The oceans at the North Pole are 30 degrees warmer than normal. Bone chilling Siberian highs no longer sit solidly at the poles, but meander down onto the continents with a wrath that would have sent our nomadic ancestors packing. But we don't move. We see everything as being under our control. The reality of what we are facing is hitting home anyway - manifest in how we treat one another. Yet again badly!
As a young girl, child of a displaced people, one of my heroes was Ayla in "Clan of the Cave Bear", the inventor of almost everything, who birthed an abomination in her liaison with "Flatheads". She taught me the truth about the "Other" and finding my own truth about who I was outside conventional norms.
As we move more and more into our own existential crisis on this planet, we will are finding ourselves embroiled in the same us against them mentality that has bedeviled us time immemorial. Just look to what this "exceptional" nation is doing to itself at this very moment. - Tearing itself to bits exactly at the point when it could be uniting in common purpose to address what is really ailing it and the rest of the world.
The oceans at the North Pole are 30 degrees warmer than normal. Bone chilling Siberian highs no longer sit solidly at the poles, but meander down onto the continents with a wrath that would have sent our nomadic ancestors packing. But we don't move. We see everything as being under our control. The reality of what we are facing is hitting home anyway - manifest in how we treat one another. Yet again badly!
32
Yesterday I came across this dark and eloquent video from a band called Heilung, Healing in German.
It ends with this plea.
Remember that we are all brothers
All people, beasts, tree, and stone and wind
We all descend from the one great being
That was always there before people lived and named it
Before the first seeds sprouted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7ZqZVunCb4
It ends with this plea.
Remember that we are all brothers
All people, beasts, tree, and stone and wind
We all descend from the one great being
That was always there before people lived and named it
Before the first seeds sprouted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7ZqZVunCb4
1
Conservatives who read this can understand that liberals are not all "godless" or "baby killers" (moral Neanderthals), and liberals who read this can understand that not all conservatives are "racist" "homophobes" and "heartless" (social Neanderthals). Your fascinating journey to Gibraltar holds lessons for us all.
1
Many have said it: "It's not what we don't know that hurts us. It's what we know that simply ain't true." Interesting how bias creeps into our thoughts and perspectives and we continue to find reasons to support our biases even in the presence of data that says otherwise. That's why Daniel Kahneman's work is so illuminating.
1
Thank you so much for writing an article with such elegant grace and rooted in awareness. Haven't read anything this engaging since Stephen J. Gould left us.
2
It was exciting for me to see the report on my DNA test early last year. There it was, slightly over 2% Neanderthal, and 1% Densenovian. This artical revealingly exposes one of human kinds terrible habits, to assume we must be genetically superior to anyone who isn't exactly the same culture, or skin color, or many other things different than whomever a specific we is. How many people in world history have been killed because of this. And, how dull witted scientists, anthropologists, and others are who cannot change their minds
It's an interesting piece. A bit sobering that even the NYT fails to mention two less prominent figures, Fuhlrott and Schaafhausen. The worker who discovered the skull brought it to Fuhlrott, a local school teacher, who immediately recognized that it must be of ancient human origin. Fuhlrott knew Schaafhausen, a professor in Bonn, who "verified" that it was indeed from an ancient human. Fuhlrott and Schaafhausen were the first to publicly report on the discovery. To look at those bones and realize they were from an ancient human species is a brilliant insight. The finding was vigorously disputed by a prominent scientist in Germany, Virchow. He thought the skull was from the remains of a Cossack who had come through the Neander Valley in the early 1800s. This all happened a few years before Darwin published his theory of evolution.
I grew up close to the Neander Valley and love that story, because it shows you how much science has been founded on beliefs, and how damaging it can be when prominent scientists don't keep an open mind.
I grew up close to the Neander Valley and love that story, because it shows you how much science has been founded on beliefs, and how damaging it can be when prominent scientists don't keep an open mind.
3
Excellent science writing!
1
Great article, thorough, accurate, and spot on. And, with some adjustments, Milt Wolpoff was right all along!
1
Why do I read NYT Magazine pieces. They're always about the author in the end. Anyway, Jean Auel "humanized" Neanderthals decades ago, though granted with a certain "magical other" technique.
2
I re-read the paragraph stating the writer (who wrongly referred to himself as a scientist), thought Gibraltar was an unpopulated rock. There is no reason to condone the crass ignorance of is writer and much reason for the NYT to not have published it.
3
This is sensitive and illuminating, one of the most amusing and challenging pieces I have read in a long while. It is not often we are asked to acknowledge our assumptions and reconsider our place in the world, that we are asked to consider the ways in which what is ancient is also current, that we are asked to consider the breadth and depth of being human. It is a message many of us need to hear, and I would happily share it with the congregation I serve.
2
Decades ago, I was privileged to take a course on paleoanthropology from William L Straus (1900-1981) at the Johns Hopkins University. Dr Straus was convinced then that Neanderthal remains had been misinterpreted and that the common view of them as brutish and intellectually deficient was in error. He condemned the way they were portrayed in natural history museum displays. I recall his quip that if a Neanderthal were to be dressed in a business suit, given an attache case, and directed onto a commuter train, no one would turn their heads in amazement, or remark that this "creature" was not one of them. Dr Straus certainly shaped my views on these remarkable humans. Did this respected expert have such little influence over his fellows in the field that his voice and opinions were drowned out, as so often happens in scientific controversies? Have the researchers featured in this article never heard of him or his work?
1
I recall his quip that if a Neanderthal were to be dressed in a business suit, given an attache case, and directed onto a commuter train, no one would turn their heads in amazement, or remark that this "creature" was not one of them.
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A contemporaneous paleoanthropologist has expanded this analogy. If you got onto a bus and saw a modern-dressed Homo erectus on board, you would probably elect to sit on the opposite side of the bus. If you got on the bus and saw an Australopithecus on board, you would turn around and get off the bus.
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A contemporaneous paleoanthropologist has expanded this analogy. If you got onto a bus and saw a modern-dressed Homo erectus on board, you would probably elect to sit on the opposite side of the bus. If you got on the bus and saw an Australopithecus on board, you would turn around and get off the bus.
A small ambiguity in the article: it states "most living humans still carry Neanderthal DNA, making up roughly 1 to 2 percent of our total genomes." It should note that this does not apply to sub-Saharan Africans, who do not carry any Neanderthal genes.
5
Great article. The topic could be shallowly/superficially covered in the contemporary "1-minute attention span" style. But it was done with the depth/merit respect of the traditional journalism. Thank you NYT.
1
"...the Neanderthal’s skull alone was proof of its moral “darkness” and stupidity."
in 1864, germany was going through or had gone through several civil/foreign wars, france had just finished with napoleonic wars a few decades before, china was finishing with its murderous taiping rebellion, and the americans were going through their savage civil war.
and there were the wars in god's name a few centuries before.
and the wars of the 20th century were yet to come.
most of human history is violent history, full of darkness and senseless killing on a vast scale that only humans could generate. (ancestors from spain and britain are further examples of this behavior.) but i doubt if other hominids were truly flower people either, given the flint axes and spears that are typically found. neanderthals were probably people too.
in 1864, germany was going through or had gone through several civil/foreign wars, france had just finished with napoleonic wars a few decades before, china was finishing with its murderous taiping rebellion, and the americans were going through their savage civil war.
and there were the wars in god's name a few centuries before.
and the wars of the 20th century were yet to come.
most of human history is violent history, full of darkness and senseless killing on a vast scale that only humans could generate. (ancestors from spain and britain are further examples of this behavior.) but i doubt if other hominids were truly flower people either, given the flint axes and spears that are typically found. neanderthals were probably people too.
All very interesting, but why should there be more funding for this work? To keep lazy college professors with cheap labor of undergraduate students? To keep these people employed. There are many more pressing than determining who did what when?
Because, as a great man once said, "The unexamined life is not worth living".
3
There are many more pressing than determining who did what when?
================
There are few more pressing issues than learning "who did what when"?
Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it
================
There are few more pressing issues than learning "who did what when"?
Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it
3
Good article, but I hope we can leave it to artists to "humanize" prior humanoids and ourselves. I prefer to stick to the data and facts for science, it really works best that way. I can't image "feeling the pain" of the poor, oppressed bacteria that I'm killing with my antibiotics, or the rodents that I purge from my basement. Aren't they our ancestors too?
1
When I was in high school in the early 60's I was taught that Neanderthals were Homo neanderthalensis. The when I was in college, the anthropology faculty told us that Neanderthals were Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and that we were Homo sapiens sapiens. After I was out of college, I became aware that the pendulum had swung again, back to Homo neanderthalensis. I don't know how many swings the pendulum still has in it, but thank you for the progress report.
3
Judging by this article, I can believe humans and Neanderthals once mated.
Observations are more accurate, objective and less biased than interpretations. Genetic observations are more precise and reproducible. The presence of Neanderthal DNA in the human genome indicates that the two species were enough close to reproduce. Some claim it may also affect positively the human immune system.
But one should be careful in attributing special characteristics to them since much of the chromosomal DNA has (as yet) no known function.
But one should be careful in attributing special characteristics to them since much of the chromosomal DNA has (as yet) no known function.
1
A wonderful article. I was enthralled with physical anthropology in college but the subject matter was my first lesson that politics, preconceived notions inject themselves into scientific 'truth'. It's also intriguing what we take away from articles. With all this information of our evolutionary past, I was struck by the question- where do we put our hands when we have no pockets?
3
It's amazing to think that every cell in our body has one to two percent of Neanderthal DNA inherited tens of thousands of years ago.
In some sense, Neanderthals were never distinct — they just exist in a more low-key way.
In every smile and every gaze, we manifest this indelible heritage from them.
In some sense, Neanderthals were never distinct — they just exist in a more low-key way.
In every smile and every gaze, we manifest this indelible heritage from them.
It's amazing to think that every cell in our body has one to two percent of Neanderthal DNA inherited tens of thousands of years ago.
In some sense, Neanderthals were never extinct — they just exist in a more low-key way.
In every smile and every gaze, we manifest this indelible heritage from them.
In some sense, Neanderthals were never extinct — they just exist in a more low-key way.
In every smile and every gaze, we manifest this indelible heritage from them.
3
I think they went extinct because they were so ugly they hated to mate with eachother.
1
Sirs,
You can make an essay so long and diluted of useful content that nobody would care to read it. Please provide a short, concise summary for those busy and productive subscribers.
Thank you in advance.
You can make an essay so long and diluted of useful content that nobody would care to read it. Please provide a short, concise summary for those busy and productive subscribers.
Thank you in advance.
1
The Neanderthals for the most part didn't live in caves. But the environment of caves helps preserve evidence of them.
There are other early human species whose genes still exist. Australian Aborigines have up to 5 percent Denisovan genes, for example.
Fascinating subject which shows that what we consider to be "human" and "human history" is only a tiny sliver of humanity's existence on earth.
What is the real dividing point between humans and non humans, in history and biology? Is there one?
There are other early human species whose genes still exist. Australian Aborigines have up to 5 percent Denisovan genes, for example.
Fascinating subject which shows that what we consider to be "human" and "human history" is only a tiny sliver of humanity's existence on earth.
What is the real dividing point between humans and non humans, in history and biology? Is there one?
1
Such a great piece. Tremendously mind expanding. I just finished reading Chris Stringer's book 'Lone Survivors' about the origins of the homo genus and modern humans. A page turner, couldn't put it down. This article colored in a lot more about the subject, or cast light on our mode of interpretation of the subject, how we use, as Ian Hacking said, "relevant groupings" of information to form conclusions.
1
What a wonderful article! Coming from a person who struggled with history all through school and having been generally disinterested in philosophy, I found this to be enlightening and fascinating. As any good writing should do, it leaves me wanting to learn more about the subject, in this case the Neanderthals and early humans.
That these early human cultures seem to share so much with later societies is amazing. Please, NYT, continue to include further articles such as these in your repertoire. We have much to learn from our predecessors.
That these early human cultures seem to share so much with later societies is amazing. Please, NYT, continue to include further articles such as these in your repertoire. We have much to learn from our predecessors.
As a teenager I read the book The Clan of the Cave Bear, by Jean M. Auel, in which she takes the readers on a wholly imagined journey into a time when Neanderthals and Homo sapiens interacted and interbred. She very passionately "humanizes" the Neanderthals in the novel, and provides lots of interesting intellectual fodder about what might have made them and Homo sapiens similar and different. She theorizes in purely speculative but fascinating ways about possible increased adaptability in Homo sapiens and the trade-offs between instinct and adaptability among animal species. While I recognized the novel to be fiction, the author obviously researched a lot of the kind of information contained in this article, and it dramatically shaped my view of what Neanderthals may have been like, such that through my whole adulthood I have conceptualized them as just another group of people.
5
An engaging, entertaining and edifying article. More from Mr. Mooallem please.
"I gently mansplained to her that I was pretty sure she was mistaken: Gibraltar, I told her, wasn’t somewhere you could just go."
Just because you say foolish things, you should not assume that is what other men also do.
Just because you say foolish things, you should not assume that is what other men also do.
9
The fact that he even referred to it as "mansplaning" is beyond me.
I can assume some other people will say foolish things. I say foolish things; ergo, the author said some foolish things.
Uh...the term mansplain is not condemning all men. Although men, in general, do have an ingrained tendency to over-explain, or unnecessarily explain. The term mansplain is usually self-deprecating, not meant to indict the whole herd. Some dogs jump on people, others do not.
Enjoyed reading both the article and comments. I was never quite sure what to think about the Neanderthal in my DNA results. Its okay, now I feel better.
3
I've liked knowing that I have the mix.
I recall a couple of years ago there was wide media coverage of research confirming that people of African ancestry do not have any Neanderthal DNA (whereas Caucasian people do have Neanderthal DNA). I remember thinking "Oh, here we go, now we'll get a bunch of articles re-assessing the Neanderthal as misunderstood, noble, intelligent, etc. and sure enough, we have. The racist undertones (overtones?) to the early research into Neanderthals are not surprising. What is more surprising is that racist undertones also underpin the contemporary popular reassessment.
(My comments apply on the popular media's current reporting on Neanderthals and not the current scientific research itself.)
(My comments apply on the popular media's current reporting on Neanderthals and not the current scientific research itself.)
10
So have our Bell Curve race theorists Herrnstein and Murray weighed in on just what "superior traits" from Neanderthal DNA we of Euroasian descent have that people of African descent lost out on? Inquiring minds want to know.
5
For comparison, here is an infamous 1909 French illustration of "Neanderthal Man":
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1133625210083746&set=p.11336...
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1133625210083746&set=p.11336...
5
Very interesting, especially regarding the techniques the artists and anthropologists used to get an idea of what Neanderthals really looked like. I never heard about that technique of licking fossils either!
I don't like to say anything which equates black supremacy and white supremacy, given the disparate history of the two movements. But it's too appropriate and ironic given that 19th century white supremacists' racism was what led them to mistakenly regard the Neanderthal as an unthinking brute. There is a strain of extreme black supremacy I've encountered on several occasions which uses the presence or lack of Neanderthal genetics to "prove" that Europeans are physically inferior. Kind of the exact reverse philosophy of the 19th century.
I don't like to say anything which equates black supremacy and white supremacy, given the disparate history of the two movements. But it's too appropriate and ironic given that 19th century white supremacists' racism was what led them to mistakenly regard the Neanderthal as an unthinking brute. There is a strain of extreme black supremacy I've encountered on several occasions which uses the presence or lack of Neanderthal genetics to "prove" that Europeans are physically inferior. Kind of the exact reverse philosophy of the 19th century.
4
If genetic diversity is one measure of superior genetic adaptation, then the much greater genetic variation among the African races of mankind make African man more likely to survive than the much less diverse out-of-Africa man. Of course, since we are one species, all this genetic diversity benefits, potentially, all mankind.
1
One difference between us and the Neanders is that we domesticated the wolves. They were here for several hundred thousand years and apparently never did. Not only gave us a hunting advantage, but probably a big edge in combat as well. Once we had them on our side, nobody else had a chance.
5
And following our customary practice as treacherous human beings, we systemically exterminated the wolf population until it was almost wiped out. President Obama's administration has helped the wolf to finally make a come back but that will obviously not continue since our new Predator-in-Chief (and his sadistic sons) will do everything they can to ensure the wolf's (and all other wildlife's) extinction once and for all. The Trump dynasty is a deadly threat to every species on Earth. So we must all work together to remove this lethal threat before it's too late for every living being on this planet.
4
The dog came along at least 7000 years after the last neanderthal died, no earlier than about 32,000 years ago whereas the last neanderthal died no later than about 39,000 years ago. This according to the latest most widely accepted genetic and archeological evidence for the two species.
3
Did we domesticate the wolf, or did the wolf "figure out" how to use us to survive?
Weapons dominance is not all its cracked up to be...
Weapons dominance is not all its cracked up to be...
2
I recommend the book: Homo Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind.
7
The book "Homo Sapiens" includes an excellent history and timeline, and the lectures on "Big History" from Great Courses does a wonderful job of showing our place in the universe. Homo Sapiens need, especially now, a quality creation narrative to replace the stories that currently predominate.
I wonder if the interbreeding of Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens may have produced a sterile offspring like when breeding a horse and donkey to produce a mule. This would have certainly quickly caused the total demise of a race.
6
I don't think so. Neanderthal DNAhas been found in modern humans.
Here's a fun fact: According to the National Geographic Society's Genographic Project, most living people of European descent--regardless of residence--have some Neanderthal DNA. The average amount is approximately 2%. While there may have been some sterility, just as there is today, a mixed couple's offspring were not automatically sterile.
We have neanderthal DNA so not a dead end.
There is an underlying thread here that I think is the most interesting part of this article. It is the understanding that there is a human desire to have an answer for why things are the way they are. AND that our attachment to these ideas can be so strong that we will cling to them in the face of great contradictory evidence. It is a human weakness wether the human is a scientist or not. As a medical practitioner I can easily come up with examples where medicine was quite confident of something only to realize later that they were way off. Take any of a variety of women's gynecological illnesses. They were long ascribed to gender weakness and psychological failings. Now we know them as endometriosis, polyscystic ovarian syndrome, ovarian cysts etc.. But just 50-60 years ago we would have blamed the patient as flawed. Take ulcers. Just 30 yr ago we would blamed the patient as too stressed out and emotional. Now we know the vast majority of ulcers are caused by a bacteria. But when this was first discovered no one believed it. Now we have the same issues with obesity. The evidence is clear that there are multiple neuro-hormonal factors as well as genetic factors that have a profound effect on a persons ability to lose weight and sustain it. We have 70 yrs of evidence that "just diet" doesn't work yet many medical and most lay people cling to this prescription. Good science requires a genuinely open mind and the ability to let go of assumptions.
88
Nicely put, Kathleen. As I see it, good science requires a mind both exceptionally open and highly critical. Many people have one of these (and some neither), but few can maintain both.
1
Good article, and I agree with this comment, but want to point out that obesity IS diet and lifestyle! Those changed dramatically in the last 100 years, in step with the increase in obesity. Proof is sitting in front of us - just look at any current society without a modern western diet.
I used the phrase: "I'll see it when I believe it," in my recent short film: "Grizzlehead: the Tale of the Cuyahoga Valley Bigfoot." The film is a simple genre film -- but the principle resounding. Whether the topic is climate change, Brexit, the Trump presidency or the issue of the supremacy of Homo sapiens sapiens over the Neanderthals, we marshal the facts to support our beliefs. It often requires a massive change in the actual, observable facts to affect a change in core beliefs. It would require a powerful, hurricane induced wave across Florida at Orlando -- nothing less -- to change the beliefs of even a few disbelievers in the reality of climate change. A market crash worse than 1929 for even a portion of the 50% of the citizenry who believe in Trump, to reconsider their views. As Devo might say: "Are we not human?"
1
When I read some of the comments found here, I hear Julia Roberts' voice speaking this great line in Steel Magnolias: "An ounce of pretention is worth a pound of manure"
Ms Camp (and others): You are hardly an authority on anything so why have you have the audacity to attack anyone else's thinking simply because it doesn't match your own slight understanding on this subject?
Who is Camp or others to criticize anyone's opinion or narrative? She have but a scant BA( which is 30 years old) from an unnamed post-secondary institution, yet proclaims in too many words that her 'truth' trumps another's knowledge, opinion. or understanding
No one is equal to another, not you or my Neanderthal ancestor or me & my admixture of 4 continents-and perhaps the Denisovan that has yet to be discovered in my genepool.
Camp's statement that 'most' of us have Neanderthal genes is just plain ignorant. My Neanderthal Great to the Nth grandfather ancestor came from a small population of his kind and who had to compete for survival against a far greater population of H sapiens. His genes making up +/- 2% of my genome prove that not all of humanity is just H sapines, and that I am one of those mutations.
Some of you should go back and re-read the Magazine report, and do not forget to note the multidisciplinary approach taken to unearth the story of not only my Neanderthal relation whoever he may be, but the story of the hominins who make us 'human' in the 21st century.
Ms Camp (and others): You are hardly an authority on anything so why have you have the audacity to attack anyone else's thinking simply because it doesn't match your own slight understanding on this subject?
Who is Camp or others to criticize anyone's opinion or narrative? She have but a scant BA( which is 30 years old) from an unnamed post-secondary institution, yet proclaims in too many words that her 'truth' trumps another's knowledge, opinion. or understanding
No one is equal to another, not you or my Neanderthal ancestor or me & my admixture of 4 continents-and perhaps the Denisovan that has yet to be discovered in my genepool.
Camp's statement that 'most' of us have Neanderthal genes is just plain ignorant. My Neanderthal Great to the Nth grandfather ancestor came from a small population of his kind and who had to compete for survival against a far greater population of H sapiens. His genes making up +/- 2% of my genome prove that not all of humanity is just H sapines, and that I am one of those mutations.
Some of you should go back and re-read the Magazine report, and do not forget to note the multidisciplinary approach taken to unearth the story of not only my Neanderthal relation whoever he may be, but the story of the hominins who make us 'human' in the 21st century.
3
Great article!
1
Why the seven back flips to avoid the word "racist"? Why not call Phrenology what it is and was?
5
I'd like to believe the Neanderthal were a peaceful people, eventually overtaken and overwhelmed by the aggressive and predatory homo sapiens, who raped and pillaged or killed them off. I'd like to believe that homo sapiens are an inherently aggressive and predatory species, not capable of peaceful coexistence. I fear that the most purely homo sapiens are our leaders and those individuals who believe in peace and are just trying to live their lives have some Neanderthal DNA. I want to believe I have Neanderthal blood.
1
Hmm, emcee, your desire to "believe" something, no matter how motivated, and then fit a selection of facts to support your belief (and then extrapolate even further) looks like the misguided "paleo-" anthropology so nicely critiqued by Mooallem here.
1
Instead of wishful thinking, get your DNA mapped.
2
So if those who voted 'remain' are Roundheads, then those who voted 'leave' -- the Neanderthals -- are Cavaliers. Fascinating.
3
This has been a point of ridiculous contention for decades. The truth is there is no real good answer. If looked at from a socio/developmental point of view, there is little doubt that H neanderthalensis are "people" they made fire, buried their dead, had religion, etc. From a biological perspective they could viewed as a transitional species that coexisted and interbred with H sapiens. However, in the classic biological view, if successful interbreeding is possible they should not be considered a different species. All these subtleties of definition show why the whole discussion is futile. Was it the chicken or the egg???? The 1982 film "Quest for Fire" summarizes the conundrum quite well though one probable mistake is that Neanderthals knew how to make fire without any help from H Sapiens.
Simply a brilliant article. Probably the best piece I have read in the NY Times. Oh, and to those ‘informed know-it-all commentators" who thought we should know the information in the article was already” known", I would point to: Bryson.’s “A Short History of Nearly Everything”. Bryson told us things we may have already known, but made “Everything” totally enjoyable, very much like the author of this piece.
By the way, 99 percent of the people in the world don’t know much about Gibraltar (to Ms. Camp's comments), much like most anthropologists have no idea who Israel Ehrenbergh was. Just for the record, he was Ashley Montagu. Or rather more correctly, Ashley was formerly Israel.
Mark Shyres,
formerly Moshe Tchinkiski
By the way, 99 percent of the people in the world don’t know much about Gibraltar (to Ms. Camp's comments), much like most anthropologists have no idea who Israel Ehrenbergh was. Just for the record, he was Ashley Montagu. Or rather more correctly, Ashley was formerly Israel.
Mark Shyres,
formerly Moshe Tchinkiski
6
This tale, rather than article, was told in such a sing-song manner that it probably deserves to be in the travel section of the NYTimes. Sorry but it was in need of a stern editor to weed out the author inserting himself into the conversation and in like manner to trim down the biographies of the participants of the conversation. It was as if the journey was lengthened at the expense of the destination. Maybe I am just saying that the article needed to be shortened.
Just not that interesting take of an interesting subject.
Just not that interesting take of an interesting subject.
4
With very little data, we make vast assumptions. As the genetics makes clear, the blur between versions of human is very gray. Most of us have a modicum of DNA from so called Neanderthals. It's likely that this hard and fast definition of groups is wrong as well there should be twenty or thirty groups. People moved, walked and interbreed...no mystery. Of of the genes that make us human there is diversity. So the reason for the mistake? Looking at minimal evidence and making assumptions. There isn't one version but many...same with migration to the America's, to the movement of people out of, and perhaps back to, Africa.
"But all sciences operate by trying to fit new data into existing theories."
What complete and utter rubbish. Sciences operate by testing their theories against the data. Data and experiment are King. If the data doesn't fit the theory, the theory has to be modified.
What complete and utter rubbish. Sciences operate by testing their theories against the data. Data and experiment are King. If the data doesn't fit the theory, the theory has to be modified.
9
Delightful read. Jon Mooallem's is an excellent observer and reporter of our human nature. Mr. Mooallem accurately and beautifully described our feelings, while he also, softly explained the mistake we must not repeat in the future. "when he woke up on Nov,9th..."Reality ...had broken ...from our expectations. We had misunderstood the present...we never imagined that the few jigsaw puzzle pieces we based it on constituted such a tiny piece of the whole." Beautifully expressed. Also experiencing a kindred feeling for our possible relatives, the Neanderthals.
6
I enjoyed the article immensely and may seek out the book. The author leads most of us from a point of contemporary common knowledge and prejudice to the latest thoughts and findings of our ancestors in a self-deprecating humorous way. If you already knew more about the subject than the common woman, or if reading about science offends you, perhaps you should not read science articles in a publication clearly intended for the common non-sectarian public.
1
Great story telling. Just curious, being unfamiliar with Gibraltar geography, how did you get down to the caves, or did you reach them by water?
6
Really enjoyed your description of this location the your understanding of the multilayers or time and history present and pre-historic.
3
My people! says 2.9% of me, according to 23andme...
A good read.
A good read.
I guess we can no longer use the term "neanderthal" in a derogatory sense? Well at least we still have Cro-Magnon to bandy about.
1
I laughed out loud numerous times at this wonderful, quirky article (and learned an enormous amount to boot!) Excellently written and engaging. Bravo!
7
"incorrect...convictions ... that leverage our feeling of superiority over other people". Yes; I hadn't thought about our tendency to do just that, in those words.
Thank You; Informative and thought provoking article.
Thank You; Informative and thought provoking article.
1
These hominins ate each other. And I have inside information from a geneticist who does DNA analysis that it is highly unlikely any homo sapiens have Neanderthal DNA from interbreeding. It's all fake science. But people will enjoy their fantasies anyway bad science or not.
What is never addressed is how stone tools made using the same technology that the Neanderthals used are being found in no less than eight states in the United States. Tools of the same Mysterion tool-making methods are being found by the thousands levellois points, cores, blades on levallois flakes, denticulates, and literally every other kind of tool that has been documented and found in other Neanderthal sites abroad are being found and assembled right here in the United States. How did such technology get here and how can so much of it being found continue to be ignored. Neanderthal tool technology present in the United States changes everything in regard to the theory of migration Out of Africa and across the rest of the planet. Such technology right here in the USA hammers at the very foundation of human migration theories. Such technology is being looked at, or should be at the University of Florida at Gainesville. Dr. Barbara Purdy, is presenting evidence found many years ago in Florida to substantiate a Stone Age Technology that has yet to be recognized and recorded in u.s. archaeology. One question we should ask is why would a parallel to mousterian Technology abroad that is being found in the United States be ignored as it is such a significant part of what we are told about human migration and tool development.
1
A technique developed in isolation is no guarantee that it may not be individually developed elsewhere without benefit of consultation or visual reference.
2
The "most living humans" carrying Neanderthal DNA ignores a couple of things. First, those percentages are concentrated in people of Eurasian descent. This includes American Indians - pretty much everyone who isn't a sub-Saharan African. There's another sub-species, the Denisovans, distinct from the Neanderthals but more closely related to them than to "anatomically modern humans". Folks towards south-eastern Asia and Oceania carry more Denisovan than Europeans do, and Tibetans' acclimation to high-altitude living is thought to have come from them. There's evidence of a third species lurking in some of our genomes, but it has not yet been tied to a fossil record.
Sub-Saharan Africans carry none of this. People of mixed heritage that includes African have noticeably less than Eurasians. I know my African-American cousin matches in 23andme at a glance when I look at my DNA relatives by Neanderthal SNPs.
When I ponder the history of white supremacy and "brutish, sub-human" Africans, it amuses me to know that Africans can be considered to be the most purely human of us all.
Sub-Saharan Africans carry none of this. People of mixed heritage that includes African have noticeably less than Eurasians. I know my African-American cousin matches in 23andme at a glance when I look at my DNA relatives by Neanderthal SNPs.
When I ponder the history of white supremacy and "brutish, sub-human" Africans, it amuses me to know that Africans can be considered to be the most purely human of us all.
1
I really enjoyed this article. So well written. I will look up other writings by this author.
1
Why are Neanderthals always depicted with unkempt hair?
Wouldn't they at least tie it back? Or do something more elaborate if they were going to stick a feathered decoration on it? It seems at least in hairstyle, modern humans are still inclined to view Neanderthals as primitive brutes.
Wouldn't they at least tie it back? Or do something more elaborate if they were going to stick a feathered decoration on it? It seems at least in hairstyle, modern humans are still inclined to view Neanderthals as primitive brutes.
One irony that the author never mentioned, given Boule's and Sir Arthur Keith's racist arguments re: Neanderthals. It turns out that the typical modern day human of European ancestry has Neanderthal DNA, while the typical modern day human of African ancestry does not. We've long known that the Neanderthal flint knapping techniques were pretty sophisticated, although the extent to which they were able to improve that technology in the Upper Paleolithic seems to have been limited.
2
It's an interesting piece. A bit sobering that even the NYT fails to mention two less prominent figures, Fuhlrott and Schaafhausen. The worker who discovered the skull in the Neander Valley brought it to Fuhlrott, a local school teacher, who immediately recognized that it must be of prehistoric human origin. He knew Schaafhausen, a professor in Bonn, who "verified" that it was indeed from an ancient (not contemporary) human. This was vigorously disputed by a prominent scientist in Germany, Virchow. He thought the skull was from the remains of a Cossack who had come through the Neander Valley in the early 1800s. All of this happened a few years before Darwin published his theory of evolution. To look at those bones and realize they were from an ancient human species is a brilliant insight, and Fuhlrott and Schaafhausen were the first to make this discovery public, before King gave the new species its name.
I happened to grow up close to the Neander Valley and love that story, because it shows you how much science has been founded on beliefs, and how damaging it can be when prominent scientists don't keep an open mind.
I happened to grow up close to the Neander Valley and love that story, because it shows you how much science has been founded on beliefs, and how damaging it can be when prominent scientists don't keep an open mind.
5
It's worth noting that 18 of 19 hominid species are now extinct. What will prevent homo sapiens from a similar fate?
4
Dear Mr. Mooallem,
Thank you for your wonderful article. Your wit and insights into our never ending prejudices and its contemporary relevance became for me a cautionary tale as I research my swan song on intergenerational poverty (a white guy telling black guys what's wrong with them). As to the comment by Janet Camp, she is another specialist so wound up in her little world and so pedantic that she cannot see the big picture as we generalists can. This is the overriding academic challenge of our time.
JD
Thank you for your wonderful article. Your wit and insights into our never ending prejudices and its contemporary relevance became for me a cautionary tale as I research my swan song on intergenerational poverty (a white guy telling black guys what's wrong with them). As to the comment by Janet Camp, she is another specialist so wound up in her little world and so pedantic that she cannot see the big picture as we generalists can. This is the overriding academic challenge of our time.
JD
I always wonder why Neanderthals are depicted as dark with dark eyes. I would guess as residents of very cold climates that they may have been the first to evolve blond hair and blue eyes.
10
Great article, fascinating stuff. Love the long reads.
(The subtle comparisons between the ancient homo sapien / neanderthal and more recent homo sapien sapien / homo sapien sapien interaction with the excavation crews, plus the intertwining history of Gibraltar/Brexit stuff, was a great touch)
(The subtle comparisons between the ancient homo sapien / neanderthal and more recent homo sapien sapien / homo sapien sapien interaction with the excavation crews, plus the intertwining history of Gibraltar/Brexit stuff, was a great touch)
1
I think I recall reading several decades ago that the average Neanderthal brain (based on sculls) was about 150 cc larger than the average Homo sapiens brain. True?
1
I hope you are not implying that human "intelligence" is a function of brain size.
I enjoyed reading this article... it was interesting....
3
Homo Sapien = hubris
"Homo sapiens encountering Neanderthals would have been different: They met uncoupled from politics and history; neither identified as part of a network of millions of supposedly more advanced people."
I find this passage interesting in an article about how we interpret the past through biased lenses. Perhaps we have been guilty in the past of assuming too little of our ancestors - modern or Neanderthal. However, why in the world would the author assume either group had no sense of history or politics? History wasn't invented with cuneiform writing! Politics didn't have to have a ballot box to spring into existence! If anything, the lessons the author learned should have led to the more interesting assumption and question: how would the distinctive histories and politics of these peoples have driven their interactions?
I find this passage interesting in an article about how we interpret the past through biased lenses. Perhaps we have been guilty in the past of assuming too little of our ancestors - modern or Neanderthal. However, why in the world would the author assume either group had no sense of history or politics? History wasn't invented with cuneiform writing! Politics didn't have to have a ballot box to spring into existence! If anything, the lessons the author learned should have led to the more interesting assumption and question: how would the distinctive histories and politics of these peoples have driven their interactions?
34
Really good point. Oral histories are as old as language.
2
I would think this should have been obvious. If you're a species whose children have a prolonged childhood and a significant adolescence, you practically have to behave like the humans we are familiar with. You need an organized family and society that will provide support and instruction to the kids, and help the adolescents get launched in life. If the Neandrathals didn't have this, they wouldn't have survived more than a generation or two.
20
Yet it wasn't obvious to so many who came before the last few decades of research (and all the thinking that went into interpreting the results of that research).
We humans have an incredible knack for making presumptions about "the other" (even when the other is a member of our own species) that quickly gets in the way of our ability to arrive at rational conclusions such as the one you spoke of in your comment.
We humans have an incredible knack for making presumptions about "the other" (even when the other is a member of our own species) that quickly gets in the way of our ability to arrive at rational conclusions such as the one you spoke of in your comment.
They lasted for over 10,000 years.
To an amazing extent, perhaps more in archaeology than other sciences, believing is seeing. We tend to find what we are looking for.
Personally, I don't believe the Neanderthal are extinct. The ancients just thoroughly interbred and we are their children.
Personally, I don't believe the Neanderthal are extinct. The ancients just thoroughly interbred and we are their children.
24
As someone found to be 3.1 percent Neanderthal by National Geographic's amazing genome project, I couldn't be more proud.
77
Me too -- 2.8 percent!
1
Exactly
1
Well as usual people assume that bias by their experience or culture is "racism" which I believe makes actual racism much less serious. Now as to science it is always seeking to better understand its area and in this sort of science there are many gaps in our understanding and the tools that at various times existed to assist in understanding. We got it wrong, and might still not be totally correct due to these human and technology factors. Remembering these is part of a good science education, those that believe science is always correct make a big mistake.
9
"Those that believe Science is always correct make a big mistake." ..... as opposed to whom? Of course our understanding of the world is always evolving, but science is precisely how this understanding evolves. The only people who can debunk well developed scientific hypothesis are actually other scientists. Science is a method. A certain way of approaching a subject in a disciplined and consistent manner. Using mental gymnastics coupled with fantasy does not change what is true. the scientific method is the only proven path towards the truth.
1
Too bad that James Michener never focused on that era. The quality of the writing in this article reminded me of how much I enjoy detailed research like this. Keep producing research like this, Jon Mooallem!
35
Well written long read! I especially liked his thoughts about what contact between different Homo species was like.
Can you encourage the Kennis brothers to release the set of photos discussed in this article?
Can you encourage the Kennis brothers to release the set of photos discussed in this article?
60
Speaking of geography the caves location speaks volumes about what we know about man. A good place to live complete with time for contemplation and art. My only hope is that the future will give us enough time to understand the past.
21
Not to quibble, but the future has already happened & the past is yet to be...
Paleo-anthropologists, just as ethnographers continue to work with assumptions drawn from their own modern experience: grouping populations. The so-called modern races looked at in the future, 50,000 years from today, would suggest to scientists to have been distinct human populations, each placed somewhere in the evolutionary scale. Svante Paavo's research is the most convincing. There was genetic exchange involved over tens of thousands of years. The size of the populations involved would have determined the prevalence or absence of certain physical traits within a particular geographical setting. The human genome is the human genome today as it was 60,000 and 200,000 years ago. Some traits are more pronounced than others today as they have always been. The concept "races" must be once and for all discarded by science. Let racists retain it.
27
Paabo, Svante Paabo. Not Paavo.
A recent article in the German Frankfuter Allgemeine showed the reconstruction of the first European, whom most love to imagine as a blond-haired, blue-eyed variant of Homo sapiens sapiens. Well, the features determined by a detailed analysis of the skull were closer to those of a modern Ghanaian. Light skin and eyes were an adaptation to the conditions of European conditions. Strangely enough, when I gave copies of an earlier report on this possibility to my pupils some years ago, even my one racist was not shaken; the group launched into determining factors leading to changes.
As to the Neanderthals ( I love the mother and child at the top of the article - truly appealing!), when humans meet other human beings, mating and procreation are part of the process of familiarization. We are all one species, with variations due to climatic conditions, we can interbreed and have viable young,... I am looking forward to further developments in research on our true roots.
As to the Neanderthals ( I love the mother and child at the top of the article - truly appealing!), when humans meet other human beings, mating and procreation are part of the process of familiarization. We are all one species, with variations due to climatic conditions, we can interbreed and have viable young,... I am looking forward to further developments in research on our true roots.
How to rename the differences and PS. what percentage of African DNA makes someone black? People got offended when the all white/European DNA called herself black. I have known people with African genes whose skin was whiter than mine and they were not albinos --also with blue eyes. It does matter because certain diseases are more prevalent because of one's race? ethnicity? familial origins?
"Still, even a couple of days before I left, when a friend told me she faintly remembered spending an afternoon in Gibraltar once as a teenager, I gently mansplained to her that I was pretty sure she was mistaken: Gibraltar, I told her, wasn’t somewhere you could just go."
I couldn't read beyond this point. I'm flabbergasted not only that an adult could be so ignorant about Gibraltar, but that he would then take it up yet another notch by talking down to a woman who was smarter than him.
The whole Gibraltar confession ruined the article for me.
I couldn't read beyond this point. I'm flabbergasted not only that an adult could be so ignorant about Gibraltar, but that he would then take it up yet another notch by talking down to a woman who was smarter than him.
The whole Gibraltar confession ruined the article for me.
76
Wilson, it's a pity you didn't go on. It's a great article, particularly about the Dutch artists who recreate Neanderthal models... I learned a lot.
Mr. Freeman, I hear you, especially because someone in the role of informing the public should be better educated about the world. Perhaps, though, we should cut him a little slack for owning up to his own ignorance with self-deprecating humor. Can you imagine how excited we would all be if our new US leadership would come anywhere even close to this low bar for self-awareness and personal growth?
2
Your loss ... the article was splendid!
1
Beautifully structured work.
22
This is the best article on anthropology I have ever read. Thank you.
19
A terrific article on our ancestors!
18
What a fascinating, very well written story this is.
31
Great read! Thank you. The best article in the NYT today.
44
What a sad commentary on what it means to be Homo sapien. We're better because we were able to club others to death.
11
Did you read the article? that's not what it's conclusion is at all. more like, we were more fruitful/there were more of us, so more chance for innovation existed . and those innovations probably helped us survive the inhibitable weather. . . . . probably/maybe.
without written history, everything is just creative re-creation through detective work.
without written history, everything is just creative re-creation through detective work.
Perhaps the club was a disease....wouldn’t be the last time a population was decimated that way.
Welcome to Darwiniism reality.,
Don't overlay emotions over cold hard facts.
Don't overlay emotions over cold hard facts.
If we just review what we know human have done to other humans in the last 5,000 years then it seems obvious that homo sapiens killed off the Neanderthals. Killing is what we do. If we are superior to Neanderthals than it is in our ability to destroy our competitors. Of course it could have been a virus or disease that helped the process along .Perhaps we brought it to them just like the smallpox blankets we gave the American Indians. The largest number of people in history killed by contact with foreigners were the native South and North Americans . I can't find the exact number but it was many multiples of the deaths in both world wars.
Why would our past be any different, we are programmed to kill and we do it very well.
Poof, bye green earth.
Why would our past be any different, we are programmed to kill and we do it very well.
Poof, bye green earth.
13
Except the smallpox epidemic occurred in less than one generation. The record is clear that Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens coexisted for a very long time, if you read the article.
1
Why are you collapsing tens of thousands of years of two human species' proximity to each other over a vast landmass into a single genocidal event?
4
Yes, we are killers, but did you this entire article ? You don't know we KILLED them off, know one does precisely, or that the answer isn't much more complex than that.
1
Will the people who mocked Jean Auel please apologize?
49
It kind of gives a whole new validity to her works, doesn't it?
3
I was waiting for references to my favorite series, Clan of the Cave Bear / Earth's Children by Jean Auel! WE knew the Neanderthals were awesome. Go, Creb and Iza!
2
Beautiful and accessible. I'm an anthropologist and I might use this to introduce students to the topic. Thanks for this!
27
Some really interesting information is buried in this article. But so much irrelevant information made it hard to read.
11
I find it weird that soon after it's been decided that Africans don't share ANY DNA from Neanderthals all of a sudden the image has changed? Now there's a lot of "oh they're not so bad, thanks for sharing." Less than 5 years ago, we and everyone else considered Neanderthals to be subhuman. Further, they spent thousands of years using the same tools. Doesn't seem very advanced to me. The Washington Post recently wrote that Neanderthal DNA gave modern humans Type 2 diabetes, Crohn’s disease, lupus, allergies, addiction and more. In addition to HPV. They also weren't very attractive, by any modern standard. There's nothing wrong with having Neanderthal DNA, but there's a hint of continuing white/European supremacy going on and it needs to be called out. Soon, people will be saying that Europeans are superior BECAUSE of their Neanderthal DNA. Just stop. All modern humans are equal, race is a social construct, and no one's DNA is better than others, so stop patting yourselves on the back for having Neanderthal DNA. It didn't give you any advantage. Big Whoop. We're all human and we're all equal.
32
"We're all human and we're all equal" - Yes. And this essay said nothing different.
2
I think you are reading w-a-a-a-y too much into the discovery that East Asians and Europeans carry Neanderthal DNA (and the alleged shift in perception that accompanied this discovery).
Please read the article again, but this time, try leaving some of your own intellectual baggage behind. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you come across.
Please read the article again, but this time, try leaving some of your own intellectual baggage behind. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you come across.
Race is not a social construct.
A crime scene gets some DNA. And, lo and behold, one of the things that can be determined is the race of the perp. More black, less white, not Asian. Whatever.
That's not your PC construct. It's called science.
A crime scene gets some DNA. And, lo and behold, one of the things that can be determined is the race of the perp. More black, less white, not Asian. Whatever.
That's not your PC construct. It's called science.
1
What a wonderful thought that each age had their own Bill Gates. I most envy then because they had open space around them. Nowadays, we are packed together and it clearly doesn't work very well.
What a wonderful article!
What a wonderful article!
28
A factual error in this article: It was not William King's discovery that it was a separate species. Johann Carl Fuhlrott and the anatomist Hermann Schaaffhausen from Bonn had already published this in 1857.
21
Fascinating! Too bad global warming will eventually raise ocean levels to submerge the caves that protected these artifacts and clues to the Neanderthal. Not surprising that scientists did not initially recognize the sophistication of these ancient forebears, as no idea springs forth fully formed from the initial evidence available. Just another reason why the anti-science crowd is so completely wrong about cutting university budgets and research funds, as knowledge is a costly intellectual commodity that needs support to move forward. Again, these amazing revelations of our ancient ancestors' social and technological achievements now being revealed bring new meaning to living "Off the Grid"!
43
Most of the caves in which Neanderthals resided are in fact flooded already, as the ocean has risen by roughly 120 metres since the end of the Ice Age. When conditions are right in Northern Europe ( area England, Denmark, Northern Germany, signs of old settlement dating to roughly a millenium ago can still be found. (Check out "Doggerland" for a very interesting read.) And that was long after the Nanderthals had disappeared
"New research shows they shared many behaviors that we long believed to be uniquely human." Um, what is the scientific name for Neanderthal Man? It's Homo Neanderthalensis. And I believe some scientists use Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis. We know that Neanderthals and so-called modern humans interbred; some of us have Neanderthal ancestors. So why is the term uniquely human" used at the beginning of the article? Neanderthals were human. And many scientists have recognized this for decades. See for example "The Neandertals" by Trinkhaus and Shipman, published in, I think, 1993.
34
This is truly engaging writing. The ability to weave complex science with philosophy and politics to give a sense of how evolution worked and is working in our every mundane action (like sitting around a campfire) was thrilling to experience. I say that as one trained in science.
Thanks for publishing this.
Thanks for publishing this.
96
I was missing this kind of article. Maybe it was me, or it could have been the election grabbing up most of the journalists' energy, but anyway I'm glad to see they're back.
This is the main reason why I'm subscribed to the NY Times.
This is the main reason why I'm subscribed to the NY Times.
131
So true. Can't wait to share this article with my kids.
Love the article. But I've always thought of the Neanderthals as people because they made jewelry. Only people make and wear jewelry. So they are people (really strong people, but people)
32
It is quite usual in many cultures to denigrate, in jest or seriously, with a perverse comparison with another society or a segment of a society.
So what Elizabeth Hurley has said should not come as a surprise.
However, isn't by attempting to distance herself from so-called "elites" Elizabeth Hurley - someone who can VERY comfortably be grouped among the elites, enjoying the privileges as an elite - is making a FOOL of herself???
So what Elizabeth Hurley has said should not come as a surprise.
However, isn't by attempting to distance herself from so-called "elites" Elizabeth Hurley - someone who can VERY comfortably be grouped among the elites, enjoying the privileges as an elite - is making a FOOL of herself???
4
Great article. I love the thought of other forms of homo sapiens, its somehow comforting. Often walking with my dog I am astounded at his delight at other canines - barking and sniffing - and think how dull we humans can be, just passing each other silently.
25
I believe you mean Sir DAVID Attenborough-ish aplomb? The naturalist, not his brother the actor? Fact check?
13
I like this reveal on the reality that our existence, our species, is simply part of a continuum. A continuum which never ends so long as life exists on this wee rock circling its star.
Since continuum's are basically real-time dynamic processes moving thru time it sets me to wondering......the Neanderthal's essentially blended into us. Their essence was subsumed, or swamped as the author notes, by us. Who, or what, "out there" is being set (up) by time and circumstance to do much the same to us, eh? You know there will come a day. And when the day comes I only hope they have their Kennis brothers to help them understand who we were.
John~
American Net'Zen
Since continuum's are basically real-time dynamic processes moving thru time it sets me to wondering......the Neanderthal's essentially blended into us. Their essence was subsumed, or swamped as the author notes, by us. Who, or what, "out there" is being set (up) by time and circumstance to do much the same to us, eh? You know there will come a day. And when the day comes I only hope they have their Kennis brothers to help them understand who we were.
John~
American Net'Zen
12
We living beings are being "subsumed" into the new nightmare reality. This swirling continuum of rapid, progressing change, is being carried along by circumstances beyond our control, stubbornness and ignorance.
It can take time to assimilate new ideas when caught up in this currently rapid process, especially while accepting old school conventional wisdom. Any civilization is vulnerable to unexpected change - or disaster.
By refusing to see the reality of our current situation, creates delays. That might prevent the creation of, or ability to find those elusive gems and put into action, those very important (radical) solutions that may be necessary to save THIS civilization. Climate change has the potential to be a bigger surprise than most can fathom.
It can take time to assimilate new ideas when caught up in this currently rapid process, especially while accepting old school conventional wisdom. Any civilization is vulnerable to unexpected change - or disaster.
By refusing to see the reality of our current situation, creates delays. That might prevent the creation of, or ability to find those elusive gems and put into action, those very important (radical) solutions that may be necessary to save THIS civilization. Climate change has the potential to be a bigger surprise than most can fathom.
"They used toothpicks."
This is one fine piece of writing, and full of enlightenment. Thank you so much.
This is one fine piece of writing, and full of enlightenment. Thank you so much.
26
Excellent article. Of interest to me is why after at least 60,000 years Neanderthals became a ghost people. Seemingly ruled out is physical annihilatione from others, climate, etc.
Animals that thrive are those that are social. Neanderthals are reorted to live in small, often isolated groups with limited interaction with others. I believe that their lack of broad socialization and living in large communities contributed greatly to their becoming a "ghost" people and to their oblivion.
Animals that thrive are those that are social. Neanderthals are reorted to live in small, often isolated groups with limited interaction with others. I believe that their lack of broad socialization and living in large communities contributed greatly to their becoming a "ghost" people and to their oblivion.
14
Jean Auel fictionalised Neanderthal life in Clan of the Cave Bear, in 1980. Her depiction of a Neanderthal 'Clan' of 18000 years BP, in a world they shared with other humans, is in accord with current attitudes and research. Interesting.
48
Thank-you for the long view, something of a relief from the present. Now I know why people seek caves for solace and perspective.
20
Thank you for this vivid essay, which has changed forever my conception of the human "other". I am grateful that I had enough energy this morning to read it.
16
Years ago I read that the real reason the California Grizzley disappeared was not so much loss of territory as the fact that they had a slow and long reproductive cycle. That got me thinking as to whether that might be why the Neanderthals vanished. I always found the "inferior species" idea rather lame. I also wondered they might walk among us and am glad that DNA research shows that many of us carry a touch of that in us. Thank you for such an unusual article.
32
Wonderful article. Just one small comment: the people of Gibraltar are making a big part of their livings by hiding money of big fortunes who want to avoid taxes in EU and USA. That it's why Gibraltar is considered officially a "Fiscal Paradise" by EU and USA, and that is why both are not very happy with them. Otherwise, it is a very nice place with very nice people living there, with all the right to choose their nationality.
20
Why was this person picked or approved to write this piece rather than one of today's experts on the subject? This person starts by saying he knew nothing about Gibralter, as if that were normal ignorance in this day and age, and his lack of grounding in his subject proceeds from there. What's next on this theme of enabling the ignorant to cover a subject? Symptomatic of our times.
57
I found this to be a very interesting article. It is very well written and very informative. I don't see any reason to insult the writer. He appears to have informed himself very capably, and he conveys his information with a lot of enthusiasm. Perhaps Margaret should stick to specialty journals.
1
People are not "approved" to write such pieces. This is not a news article from the newsroom. If you take the time to read the editorial information, this writer is an occasional contributor, which means that he took the time to research and write this of his own accord, later submitting it for publication. People who tell stories well do just that. This was a beautifully written, lay-person's narrative of a series of archeological discoveries. If you want to read from the experts, go look in a science journal, not a general-interest publication. Geez.
1
I'm shocked and embarrassed to confess that I'm 46, spend hours every day reading news, and thought all this time that Gibraltar was an island.
14
The history of Neanderthal analysis reminds me a lot of the autocratic Clovis firsters, who used their position in the academy for many years to strangle alternate theories regarding to the length that humans have inhabited the Americas.
16
The advantage of science is that one can examine old evidence and change one's mind. All of us have biases and we are foolish if we think we have eliminated them from our conclusions. It's wonderful to see Neanderthals being re-examined and the old ideas modernized.
42
This article was much more than i expected. Informative, funny, intriguing, and so in depth! I remember seeing an illustration of an intelligent, dignified looking Neanderthal bust once, and it captured my imagination and still does. The horror of losing a companion species of people and being left completely alone in the universe must have been too much to take in the first time the puzzle got taken out of the box. Fact is so much stranger and more haunting than fiction.
21
Splendid writing, and a fascinating condensation of archaeological research. Just one probably irrelevant observation: "Kennis", the last name of the Dutch twin artists mentioned, is of course the Dutch word for "knowledge"...
19
Perhaps more appropriate: "Een Kennis" also means a person one knows.
1
Glad you discussed the portrayal of Neanderthal hair! My personal cause is "HAIRDOS FOR NEANDERTHALS!" Once again this small percentage of my ancestors are portrayed with matted tangled hair. Almost every human culture arranges or cuts their hair in some way, even if just for ease in searching for parasites. Even chimps do not have mats. Humanize the neanderthals please, and give them credit for their artwork in toolmaking and other crafts, and give them some kind of appearance of hair care. I understand that we cannot know for sure...but it is impossbile to seach for lice, fleas and ticks in overgrown tangles of messy hair. SO, at the very least, they would have had some kind of hair management.
122
Great name for a hair salon, or a magazine hair section.
A great article.
The reflexive response of so many observers who conflated differences with inferiority demonstrates one of our species' least attractive features: our seemingly innate tendency toward xenophobia/racism/rejection of the "other." It is like an immunologic response and is a part of our nature, I think. But let us not despair: "Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are put in this world to rise above.” And we can.
The reflexive response of so many observers who conflated differences with inferiority demonstrates one of our species' least attractive features: our seemingly innate tendency toward xenophobia/racism/rejection of the "other." It is like an immunologic response and is a part of our nature, I think. But let us not despair: "Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are put in this world to rise above.” And we can.
7
I enjoy knowing that across my life span the Neanderthals have gone from brutish missing link to distant cousin.
18
I am utterly shocked you had no idea Gibraltar was a place where living people lived, was larger than that rock, or that it has an important history in the long history of war between England and Spain, that in no small measure is one of the roots of Hispanophobia in the USA. I am not sure you should brag about it, and i am also not at all sure your arrogant explaining to your friend that she could not possibly have spent summer time there has anything to do with your gender, thought it is cute to get in a hip buzzword (mansplaining) when you can. Well, maybe in addition to doing poorly at geography you also are now noticing your gender bias. that is good, but how could you not have read about Gibraltar in your quest for general knowledge? The killings of the IRA operatives there by British govt in Gibraltar? Hmmm..
10
no one knew anything until they found out - which the writer did.
1
Mr Mooallem was clearly mocking his own ignorance by retelling his conversation with the friend who spent time on Gibraltar, not bragging. The story was setting the stage for how much he learned on the trip, not the main point of the story. Not everyone is a history or geography expert. I teach maths; you will not catch me deriding someone who can't solve differential equations. Not being able to solve diff eqs doesn't make one lacking in general knowledge.
The article is a great read - both entertaining and full of facts. Consider giving it a read for content instead of searching for minutiae with which to put the author down.
The article is a great read - both entertaining and full of facts. Consider giving it a read for content instead of searching for minutiae with which to put the author down.
1
Its just another example of the abysmal level of "Modern Education" focused on "Testing". & the mass addiction to Internet & Phone haven't helped spawn much interest in anything past short videos of the mundane.
Fascinating - I really enjoyed the article. Thanks for posting!
12
Back when Neanderthals were thought not to have interbred with modern people, they were considered stupid and savage. Now that we know that Europeans ancestors interbred with them, but the ancestors of people from Africa did not, all of a sudden we start thinking they were smart! It's funny how anthropology works.
30
sometimes facts are inconvenient.
1
Yours is the second comment I've read today that suggests / hints at some sort of anti-African bias in all of this.
I am gob-smacked (and disappointed) that you could take away such a message from this wonderfully presented article.
I am gob-smacked (and disappointed) that you could take away such a message from this wonderfully presented article.
2
Wonderful article, thank you.
It's important to consider the implications of how few people - Sapiens or Neanderthals -- were scattered widely over such large areas.
This - along with the hyper-secretive Goreham's cave - suggests that, generally, small groups of people moved to be as far away from each other as possible and rarely interacted at all. The genetic record proves that the survivors did "commingle" but one has to imagine that these events were very rare and often not exactly friendly.
It's important to consider the implications of how few people - Sapiens or Neanderthals -- were scattered widely over such large areas.
This - along with the hyper-secretive Goreham's cave - suggests that, generally, small groups of people moved to be as far away from each other as possible and rarely interacted at all. The genetic record proves that the survivors did "commingle" but one has to imagine that these events were very rare and often not exactly friendly.
4
One thing the article did not mention is that 99.7% of homo sapiens and Neanderthals DNA is shared.
23
They had voices like Julia Child...
8
I'm a retired physician and avid collector of all things old. So, and it's a long story, I came into possession of a collection of Neaderthal lithic artifacts labelled "Peyzac" and "Le Moustier" with old paper labels. No American academic archaeologist seems interested in them (50 pieces) and I'm not getting any younger. Any museum out there want them? They were in a well-known Mid-western Native American artifact collector's massive collections and were sold off following his passing. Really cool is the carved stalactite pendant of a Neanderthal bust, perhaps the only known (unknown!) portrait of a Neanderthal. It was extensively studied by a renowned academic archaeologist and determined ancient and of ancient manufacture, but he lost his nerve and didn't publish. The really interesting question is: "who made the pendant?" I had it online for 3 years and never received a single inquiry. Our world is filled up with idiot "experts" and folks who just could care less about learning anything. Sad. We all have Neanderthal DNA and I see folks now and then who have many, if not all, of the Neanderthal anatomic characteristics. Most are, of course, partial, but very rarely they appear nearly intact. I was a human anatomy prosector in med school. All hail, to our Neanderthal brothers and sisters, who lived and thrived much longer in a far more hostile world than we could survive in. If you're a museum, I'm not hard to find.
39
Try to the Field Museum in Chicago. Madison doesn't want them or at least to see them?
This is beautifully written and poignant. And I am not just saying that because my own genetic testing revealed that I am more Neanderthal than I'd previously cared to admit.
8
What an incredibly beautiful article. That part about some places being especially human, and that implied in that statement that Neanderthals were included, was such a small and lovely way to write them back into "our" history. It broke my heart a little. And those Dutch twins who are such lovers of the specific! I would love to see their studio (NYTimes, make a video, please! One of those Samsung ones where you can look around....) The sensitive touch on this subject really worked; my 23andme results say I have very little Neanderthal, which is now quite disappointing!
10
Cute article, but the information content is very low. Absolutely clueless about past history or current reality of Gibraltar.
5
not about gibraltar
1
The article was about Neanderthals who happened to live on Gibraltar, not Gibraltar. The information content about new discoveries about Neanderthals was pretty high.
1
I especially enjoyed the passages about the Dutch sculptors. Great! Entertaining writing, hugely informative.
13
The genetic history of humans in Europe over the last 10,000 years, studied in a few major papers in the last couple of years, shows a series of sweeping replacements, answering the question of whether cultural waves spread to nearby people, or new people largely replaced those that were there before. It is mostly the latter and it happened multiple times. This was repeated replacement of much larger populations than Neanderthals and was surely not peaceful. Neanderthals were found in low numbers throughout most of Eurasia, as were a few Denisovans, when we arrived from Africa. Did it unfold differently, or was it annihilation over a few generations, with a bit of forced breeding?
4
Very informative article. As an amateur anthropologist who took his degree in 1972 there is so much that has changed in the field since then that I feel like a novice. Articles like these, that emphasize the need for legitimate scientific open mindedness are a pleasure to read. We continue to learn so much about our past on a daily basis.Thanks.
11
This is an article purportedly on science, but it begins and ends with politics and moralism.
How is this any improvement over the politics and moralism that distorted views of Neandertals in the first place?
Get over yourselves, if possible.
How is this any improvement over the politics and moralism that distorted views of Neandertals in the first place?
Get over yourselves, if possible.
6
Thank you for this article, and for reminding us that history is written by the accidental survivors.
12
beautiful story, fascinating.
6
Thank you! Evocative, picturesque, insightful, educational, with touches of humanity and humor........ I'll save this gem in my files and share the link with friends. Please consider writing about the Denisovans, albeit so much less known, so far......
11
Gibraltar controls the Mediterranean. Don't ever give it up.
2
The Neanderthals will recede into the true history of the ascent of man like Piltdown Man. A few physical specimens and terribly degraded DNA not convincingly derived from ancient bone uncontaminated with modern human DNA. The Lascaux paintings are real, but the DNA evidence is shoddy.
1
It is not only in anthropology that researchers make huge leaps of theory without justifying evidence. There are many theories whether medical, economic, or social that are based on conjecture and supported thinly or not at all by the evidence. It is tough to shake these theories once they gain a foothold.
6
And don't forget physics and cosmology! String theory?
There seems to be a lack of respect for the role and nature certain higher primates have played, leading to the evolution of modern man. We use some of these species for experimental purposes, and some cultures actual use them as a food source. It apparently is so easy to engage in these abuses, justified with explanations that they are not human, despite obvious evidence that they are intelligent beings, with feeling and emotions, in contrast with many less evolved species. When I see similarities in their appearance and behavior, I sometimes think we have overestimated our importance in developing and preserving the planet that has made our existence possible.
8
Stopped reading at "gently mansplained".
10
They walk amongst us. I knew a man from the south of France, barrel-chested, with heavy eyebrow ridges, and with virtually every other physical detail attributed to Neanderthals. This was the '70's, well before their rehabilitation, but I formed the personal opinion then and there that our species had interbred with Neanderthals and that our DNA was co-mingled with some individuals possessing an unusually high content of that other species'. Jean-Jacques Gillet was bright, sensitive, and taught me a very great deal with enormous patience on his part. Anecdotal I know, but you really had to be there.
24
Totally different genetic background but exactly as intelligent as us. Amazing!
1
Five per cent of the people in the world have type O blood, Rh negative.
The Rh stands for rhesus monkey. Our blood not compatible with monkey blood as everyone else's is. One of the new discoveries about Neanderthals is they had O negative blood. Fifty per cent of today's Basques have O negative blood.
Sometime in the future the different branches of science studying different aspects of Neanderthals will get together and give us a more rounded picture.
Just some additional info to think about.
The Rh stands for rhesus monkey. Our blood not compatible with monkey blood as everyone else's is. One of the new discoveries about Neanderthals is they had O negative blood. Fifty per cent of today's Basques have O negative blood.
Sometime in the future the different branches of science studying different aspects of Neanderthals will get together and give us a more rounded picture.
Just some additional info to think about.
67
Regarding your assumption to the meaning of Rh factor. Not exactly. The Rh factor was discovered as a result of immunization testing using Rhesus monkey red blood cells injected into rabbits to produce an immunological result which helped identify antigen in the rabbit's blood serum. Similar factors in blood exist across species. The upshot of the discovery was applicable to infant mortality between Rh positive and negative parents producing offspring whose blood type was different than that of the mother's during childbirth. Good info here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rh_blood_group_system
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rh_blood_group_system
I love this sentence in the opening: "Why did science get them so wrong?"
I am a social scientist, not a physical or natural scientist, but from my experience what holds true is that scholars in all disciplines can't escape the fact that they are prone to succumb to logical fallacies associated with the way humans think. Among these fallacies is confirmation bias. The New York Times has printed several interesting pieces about confirmation bias and the way it can distort scientific inquiry.
I am a social scientist, not a physical or natural scientist, but from my experience what holds true is that scholars in all disciplines can't escape the fact that they are prone to succumb to logical fallacies associated with the way humans think. Among these fallacies is confirmation bias. The New York Times has printed several interesting pieces about confirmation bias and the way it can distort scientific inquiry.
10
For a sophisticated early take on the Neanderthals and the likelihood of their having interbreeded with anatomically modern humans, see the 2010 book, "The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution" by Gregory Cochran and the late Henry Harpending. I can recall Cochran predicting in the late 1990s that modern humans would turn out to have inherited certain adaptations, such as to surviving cold climates, from Neanderthals.
6
Serious scientists and science fiction author Greg Bear have been trying to eliminate your pseudosciemtic nonsense about evolution for more than two decades. Svante Paabo, is one of the serious scientists.
See: "Natural Selection on the Olfactory Receptor Gene Family in Humans and Chimpanzees"
See for comparison this review of Greg Bear's claims: "Living with the Neanderthals" l
See: "Natural Selection on the Olfactory Receptor Gene Family in Humans and Chimpanzees"
See for comparison this review of Greg Bear's claims: "Living with the Neanderthals" l
2
Homo "species" fall along a continuum. We have known that for a long while now. Even the difference between Australopithecus and Homo will consist of no bright line when we have enough samples.
And "uniquely human"? All members of homina, including neanderthal and right down to Australopithecae were "human." Homo Sapiens sapiens is simply the only extant human.
As far as "conviction into a feeling of superiority over other people;" here is a newsflash: we are superior to prior hominids.
Lastly whether "we evolved in Africa" is more complex than saying we did. In fact the integration of neanderthal/Devonian DNA maybe part of what what advanced certain aspects of Homo Sapiens Sapiens superiority.
And "uniquely human"? All members of homina, including neanderthal and right down to Australopithecae were "human." Homo Sapiens sapiens is simply the only extant human.
As far as "conviction into a feeling of superiority over other people;" here is a newsflash: we are superior to prior hominids.
Lastly whether "we evolved in Africa" is more complex than saying we did. In fact the integration of neanderthal/Devonian DNA maybe part of what what advanced certain aspects of Homo Sapiens Sapiens superiority.
4
I love how you're trying to distance yourself from anything "African". Unless you have a degree in anthropology, which evinced by your last paragraph you don't, you can't decide what aspects of that "mix" gave you superiority. What is certain is that it did give you diseases- from HPV to Diabetes to a whole lot of other things. Just stop with the coded racism.
Devonian pertains to a geologic period several hundred million years ago. Perhaps you meant Denisovan. We know as yet very little about Denisovans.
2
Really beautiful, evocative article, especially "...why we are here and the Neanderthals are not can not longer be explained in a way that implies that our existence is particularly meaningful or secure. But at least moments like this [two men instinctively choosing as a seat a stone "bench" used by humans for the same purpose 39,000 years ago] placed our existence inside some longer, less-conditional seeming continuity." Now I'm going to think for a while about what I might be able to create to preserve a legacy that may outlast me and my descendants.
14
What a great piece of journalism, well done!
10
Graduate students in anthropology have created an industry of defending Neanderthals against bigotry, but by whom and to what end? It seems they have invented victims for the sole purpose of showing their own high intelligence and moral superiority in defending them. I've never heard anyone speak against Neanderthals, except the anthropologists explaining how wrong it is (actually, it's not wrong; they're dead and no one has a clue about how admirable they were). Maybe, though, we can ask Trump to build a wall to keep us safe. And...note to Mr. Mooallem...shorten up your articles.
5
Fascinating. A great read. New thoughts.
Merci beau...
Merci beau...
5
This is a fascinating article! There's so much scope covered as well, from Brexit to Boule to Trinkaus to the fun Kennis twins. Thank you for this. I learned so much!
8
Yes but the Neanderthals were not descended from the modern human race that evolved in Southeast Africa about 250,000 years ago and spread across the planet. About 3-4% of Neanderthal DNA lives on in the white European genome.
There is no Neanderthal DNA in the diverse ancient black Sub-Saharan African populations. There is more genetic diversity in a single African village ethnic tribal group than the rest of humanity combined. An apparent genetic bottleneck that reduced the first modern humans to depart Africa to a tiny population near extinction levels from which it has yet to recover.
It is very difficult to discern behavior from bones, cultural artifacts and habitations. Nor can theology nor cultural anthropology help. There is no science in trying to place humans as something other than primate apes by biological nature. The three closely related surviving primate apes the matriarchal bonobo, the patriarchal chimpanzee and human beings share behaviors.
Separating the "primitive" Neanderthal from the "advanced" humans is the product of hubris and narcissism that had the Sun and universe revolving around Earth. There was no science in that misguided and misled this folly.
There is no Neanderthal DNA in the diverse ancient black Sub-Saharan African populations. There is more genetic diversity in a single African village ethnic tribal group than the rest of humanity combined. An apparent genetic bottleneck that reduced the first modern humans to depart Africa to a tiny population near extinction levels from which it has yet to recover.
It is very difficult to discern behavior from bones, cultural artifacts and habitations. Nor can theology nor cultural anthropology help. There is no science in trying to place humans as something other than primate apes by biological nature. The three closely related surviving primate apes the matriarchal bonobo, the patriarchal chimpanzee and human beings share behaviors.
Separating the "primitive" Neanderthal from the "advanced" humans is the product of hubris and narcissism that had the Sun and universe revolving around Earth. There was no science in that misguided and misled this folly.
15
very good piece. we're more aware now that the scientists who were around when neanderthal remains were found really didn't know what they were talking about. made me wonder what they might think about today's research in a century or two. finally, in something unrelated to the story, it astounded me to think that the writer--i assume a very bright person--had absolutely zero clue about gibraltar. zero.......
3
The author must be quite young and never have taken an anthropology course--or geography! His ignorance of Gibraltar is stunning and most of what he thought about Neanderthals, except the more recent DNA stuff, has been known for decades--has he never watched a Nature or Nova program on PBS?. Even if he had read Jean Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear he would have had a more up to date image!
I have a BA in anthropology that’s over 30 years old, and only the recent work of Paabo, et al, supercedes my education. It saddens me that such myths prevail and I take great pride in my own bit of Neanderthal DNA. Nevertheless, it is good to know that Mr Mooallem has learned a great deal lately.
I have a BA in anthropology that’s over 30 years old, and only the recent work of Paabo, et al, supercedes my education. It saddens me that such myths prevail and I take great pride in my own bit of Neanderthal DNA. Nevertheless, it is good to know that Mr Mooallem has learned a great deal lately.
170
I remember a documentary on Neanderthals I watched maybe 5 years ago. The 'scientist' they talked to was adamant that we had never once crossbred with them. He stood there, angry, with his extended brow bone, heavy small chin, thick lips. I never believed him. I figure as a kid he was tormented by other kids for his looks. So, for him to feel 'normal' he must take this stand. So, it was with great joy I learned of a NatGeo project where they have collected over 400,000 DNA samples (first version, now working on a second), to test for ancient ethnicity. Almost all have around a 2.5% Neanderthal DNA. Only group that doesn't is in SubSaharan Africa. That group has never left Africa, and never of course comeback. I have sent my sample in, it's being sequenced now, then I will find out what my DNA says about my ancient ancestors, and more important to me, who my 'regional' ancestors are, which are a muddle as close as my maternal Grandmother. Cost me $149. Worth it to prove who I am. Want to find the project? The lab doing the basic work is Helix.
One wonders if Neanderthals had the capacity for being snarky; whether they conveyed it to humans, or vice versa; or whether the unwelcome trait was common to both before they encountered each other.
1
"His ignorance of Gibraltar is stunning."
What reason is there for a random American _not_ to be ignorant of Gibraltar, especially when he's not writing an article about Gibraltar?
"Even if he had read Jean Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear he would have had a more up to date image!"
No, he would not have had a more up-to-date image.
"I have a BA in anthropology that’s over 30 years old, and only the recent work of Paabo, et al, supercedes my education."
What follows from that?
What reason is there for a random American _not_ to be ignorant of Gibraltar, especially when he's not writing an article about Gibraltar?
"Even if he had read Jean Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear he would have had a more up to date image!"
No, he would not have had a more up-to-date image.
"I have a BA in anthropology that’s over 30 years old, and only the recent work of Paabo, et al, supercedes my education."
What follows from that?
3
The author criticizes other scientists for being biased, but he is biased in the opposite direction. He wants to believe that Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens were equal.
12
What on earth do you mean by “equal”? It seems to offend you. In what way are they NOT “equal”? Most of us have a bit of Neanderthal DNA and that means homo sapiens neandertalensis and homo sapiens sapiens (that’s the complete species name for you and me) interbred--sound pretty equal to me.
71
Good point. We won't really know that until we know more about our DNA. Something like 10,000 genes contribute to human intelligence and we don't yet know what most of them are. Certainly, Neanderthals weren't the mindless brutes some imagine them, but I find it interesting that the Neanderthals scrawled some cross hatches in the rock while their H. sapiens successors painted an image of a stag.
13
I should add that we did not retain all Neanderthal genes. The ones that were useful were retained, the ones that were harmful were discarded. A lot of the genes seem to affect the immune system and likely contributed to immunity to diseases specific to Europe:
"The scientists also found that some areas of the modern non-African human genome were rich in Neanderthal DNA, which may have been helpful for human survival, while other areas were more like ‘deserts’ with far less Neanderthal ancestry than average.
“ 'The barren areas were the most exciting finding. It suggests the introduction of some of these Neanderthal mutations was harmful to the ancestors of non-Africans and that these mutations were later removed by the action of natural selection,' said lead author Dr Sriram Sankararaman from the Harvard and MIT’s Broad Institute and Harvard Medical School."
http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/anthropology/science-neanderthal-g...
There really is no evidence they were the equals of early H. sapiens. All we know is that the two species could interbreed, and that some Neanderthal genes were retained in certain areas -- e.g., the large optic disk, which helps with vision in northern latitudes where there is less light.
"The scientists also found that some areas of the modern non-African human genome were rich in Neanderthal DNA, which may have been helpful for human survival, while other areas were more like ‘deserts’ with far less Neanderthal ancestry than average.
“ 'The barren areas were the most exciting finding. It suggests the introduction of some of these Neanderthal mutations was harmful to the ancestors of non-Africans and that these mutations were later removed by the action of natural selection,' said lead author Dr Sriram Sankararaman from the Harvard and MIT’s Broad Institute and Harvard Medical School."
http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/anthropology/science-neanderthal-g...
There really is no evidence they were the equals of early H. sapiens. All we know is that the two species could interbreed, and that some Neanderthal genes were retained in certain areas -- e.g., the large optic disk, which helps with vision in northern latitudes where there is less light.
6
I enjoyed this enormously. Thank you!
123
Thank you for taking us on your wonderful journey.
128
Probably the smartest thing the Neanderthals did was exit stage left before the rise of "modern man." Homo sapiens has been profoundly unwilling to share this planet with the other living things filling fields and forests (as Joachim Neander wrote). We've been especially brutal to other large predators--wolves, big cats, bears. There's the indignities we've heaped on fellow large primates--chimpanzees, gorillas. Who knows what invasive experiments scientists would've devised for Neanderthals? Or if we'd allow a few "wild" ones to remain--radio collared of course. Even "researchers" are now realizing how intelligent other creatures are, how aware, how sentient--how much they are, in important ways, like us--yet we still hunt them, trap them, poison them, keep them in filthy small cages and breed them for their coats. Painful experiments still occur on primates, dogs, cats, and of course rodents (but who cares about them?) We are, in fact, coming to realize that animals are people too. Not that that saves them from even the most unnecessary of cruelties.
Perhaps our Neanderthal brethren saw the writing on the wall (no pun intended) and just wasn't interested in being neighbors with such brutes.
Perhaps our Neanderthal brethren saw the writing on the wall (no pun intended) and just wasn't interested in being neighbors with such brutes.
332
Don't project. What you are saying is Homo Sapiens Sapiens (modern man) has been doing for up to 200,000 years or so what many species of animal, including Neanderthal has done. And chimpanzees and gorillas are fellow "great apes."
2
yes, true, they are thought to have overlapped, right?
Neanderthals were as human as we are, and we don't tend to put radio collars on other humans. We do tend to oppress and occasionally commit genocide against humans who belong to other tribes/ethnicities/nations, so perhaps that would have happened. Or perhaps the Neanderthals would be the ones oppressing us. They were human, after all.
4
This is a fabulous article. I learned a huge amount from it. Not too annoyed by the authors referential cuteness. But the last sentence of the subtitle is weird. "Science" isn't what made the early prejudicial pronouncements about Neanderthals. It was the subjective inferences straight out of society and culture of the day. As the author describes so well, the science has come since. Much of the objective science on Neanderthals is quite recent.
193
Early misinterpretations of Neanderthal capabilities were based on the very small number of remains available. Dr. David Hale, a noted archaeologist with the University of Louisville, points out that the skeleton Boule used belonged to an individual with severe arthritis; hence the distortion in the joints that led to the idea that the species had an 'ape-like' gait.
6
Or perhaps better said bias that was either not properly identified, or not properly countered as real science requires.
1
Yes, but science is frequently filled with those kinds of precepts wearing the robes and dignities of science, and being the more dangerous or toxic for it.
It is NOT that "Science" got it wrong. Rather it's that humans calling themselves "scientists" - were in fact more "human" than scientist. Fallible, seeing what their grandfather told them to see, and impervious to change.
Scientist humans even today struggle to rid themselves of the known absurdity that humans are, and ought to be "the pinnacle of creation."
We never were; we're just another species, along with grass, trees, and crickets- but the idea that "we deserve everything we can take, because it was all created for us" - has been deeply embedded in philosophies and cultures West and East for millennia. And the idea has served imperial civilizations extremely well, allowing them to grab all resources and cheerfully eradicate primal peoples. Manifest Destiny.
The best anthropologists I have known- since 1970 - have always taught that the crude assumptions about Neanderthals were absurd, and totally unsupported by any evidence. But headway against the cartoons- and the knuckle-dragging half-educated professors (an abundant type) - was always painfully slow.
Scientist humans even today struggle to rid themselves of the known absurdity that humans are, and ought to be "the pinnacle of creation."
We never were; we're just another species, along with grass, trees, and crickets- but the idea that "we deserve everything we can take, because it was all created for us" - has been deeply embedded in philosophies and cultures West and East for millennia. And the idea has served imperial civilizations extremely well, allowing them to grab all resources and cheerfully eradicate primal peoples. Manifest Destiny.
The best anthropologists I have known- since 1970 - have always taught that the crude assumptions about Neanderthals were absurd, and totally unsupported by any evidence. But headway against the cartoons- and the knuckle-dragging half-educated professors (an abundant type) - was always painfully slow.
291
As I have often said, "Science is a radical enterprise run by conservatives."
And as to the "interpretation part, and the impulse to just get rid of all that? Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts. Nietzsche himself declared, "All knowledge is interpretation." And the fuzzy-haired old physics deity Einstein observed, "Imagination is more important than knowledge."
And as to the "interpretation part, and the impulse to just get rid of all that? Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts. Nietzsche himself declared, "All knowledge is interpretation." And the fuzzy-haired old physics deity Einstein observed, "Imagination is more important than knowledge."
4
Actually, we are 'pinnacles', for the nonce...syntels functionally = to us by 2100 are certain [absent one of the 14 terrestrial or cosmic calamities]...the question is whether intelligence necessarily eventuates in volition, consciousness & self-awareness...why do we assume their hostility? wouldn't they enjoy creative companionship more than killing us off, esp. in the context of Mens Galaxis & Kardashoff stages I-II-III? [viz. N. Bostrom, G. Church, A. deGrey, D. Dennett, A. Guth, M. Kaku, C. Koch, W. Krauss, R. Kurzweil, R. Penrose, I. Susskind, M. Tegmark, C. Venter].
1
Those mental glitches come straight out of the bible, so much for fiction/fact.
Who knows what convolutions in our brains we might have inherited from Neaderthals? Perhaps the great artists or composers or actors have a fraction more Neanderthal in their DNA. Perhaps those who began the tribal legends that resulted in the Pentateuch, or those that resulted in the later Prophets, including Jesus? Perhaps we have Neanderthals to thank for a significant fraction of our humanity, the world over.
90
Not the African fraction. Subsaharan Africans have no Neanderthal DNA.
7
"Perhaps we have Neanderthals to thank for a significant fraction of our humanity, the world over."
Or, perhaps, we don't.
Or, perhaps, we don't.
1
There is no evidence about the level of intelligence of neanderthals or how their brains worked yet you find compelling your "hypothesis", maybe the only thing that resonated with you was the fact that they lived in Europe therefore their DNA must account for the achievements of the western civilization.
This article is trying to show that neanderthals as equal to us but still there are people cherrypicking information to justify their own needs to feel superior.
This article is trying to show that neanderthals as equal to us but still there are people cherrypicking information to justify their own needs to feel superior.
1
Great reporting! Now please tell us about those houses on the cliff.
46
I suspect those are staging and research areas for the expeditions. Maybe a few cots as well. Plus security.
1
Interesting, thoughtful article. But an irritiating tic: when did "millennia" become "millenniums" in the NYT style book?
204
i thought the same thing.
the story needed better editing. probably could've been reduced in size and easier to read.
and, as a non american, i thought the whole explanation about gibraltar rather bizarre. i assume the writer is well educated. sounded like a stereotype explaining to the 'folks' who couldn't possibly know a thing about anything outside the usa--or inside it at times.....
the story needed better editing. probably could've been reduced in size and easier to read.
and, as a non american, i thought the whole explanation about gibraltar rather bizarre. i assume the writer is well educated. sounded like a stereotype explaining to the 'folks' who couldn't possibly know a thing about anything outside the usa--or inside it at times.....
5
Not to mention the use of "enormousness" rather than "enormity".
9
"Millenniums" has been bothering me for years. Editors, please correct it.
13
One real piece of evidence that reinforced the image of Neanderthals as "brutes" were the "robustus features, the heavy brow and jaw in the males. It was this visual feature that led to the understandable conclusion of inferiority.
The 1% of DNA in our genomes is physical evidence that restores their humanity in my estimation.
The 1% of DNA in our genomes is physical evidence that restores their humanity in my estimation.
44
As a proud descendant of Neanderthals (according to the National Geographic project I submitted my DNA to), I concur. It's the homo sapiens part of my heritage whose humanity I question.
13
Making assumptions not based and backed by objective evidence is speculation, not really science. Now if it is a hypothesis it is acceptable, as the final answer of course not.
1
What has heavy brow and jaw do with cognition? Their brain cases were larger than ours. What has the 1% to do with cognition or memory etc. Nothing from what I read?
2
Why was Joachim Neander's poetry "simple minded" instead of just "simple"? Why, when the author mistakenly corrects a woman due to his ignorance of geography is he "mansplaining" instead of just "ignorant" or - if he wants to be colloquial "dumb" or if he wants to be ostentatiously critical of himself "arrogant"? Why does the author imply (with no need whatsoever) that the scholarly interpretation of Neanderthals is evidence that there is no benevolent God?
Could not a good editor have saved the author from himself? These bizarre and peripheral observations distract from the thread of the article and undermine the author's credibility. I may go back and try to plow through the rest, but a little editing and revising could have brought this up to the usual quality of the newspaper.
Could not a good editor have saved the author from himself? These bizarre and peripheral observations distract from the thread of the article and undermine the author's credibility. I may go back and try to plow through the rest, but a little editing and revising could have brought this up to the usual quality of the newspaper.
245
agree that the writing should've been tidied up......
4
Agreed that those observations were jarring.
5
Because the traditional meaning of "simple" is "simple minded", "mentally retarded", etc.: "Simple Simon met a pieman on his way to the fair..." After "simple" became a synonym for "easy" ("a simple puzzle", etc.) it became necessary to attach "minded" to preserve its meaning.
4