Decoding Neanderthals Film

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Salt Lake Community College *

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1020

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Anthropology

Date

Jan 9, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by ProfessorTank587

Decoding Neanderthals Film i. Answer this question before watching the video: Before taking this class what was your opinion of Neanderthal intelligence? I am biased because I have taken classes that have gone over the development of hominids before, so I know that people used to think Neanderthals were stupid compared to humans, even though it's not true. We now know that they definitely had a rich material culture, created art, have evidence of ritualistic burials, cared for their sick and injured, and lived among humans to some capacity that some of us still have a bit of Neanderthal DNA. I took a linguistics class a while back that discussed the biology and development of hominids' throat muscles and organs, which spoke about Neanderthals. If they spoke, it would likely be in a very high-pitched tone, which I found ridiculous sounding. ii. What does Dr. Hawkes mean when he says the Neanderthals have the 'mother of all image problems' (i.e. what is the image problems that Neanderthals have?)? He means that we have considered them primitive and incapable of higher-level thinking than modern humans. For a long time, the prevailing theory was that they did not have a material culture or the ability to speak and were effectively "idiot cavemen" compared to modern humans. iii. Who were the first hominins to create synthetic materials? Describe how they might have created these synthetic materials. Neanderthal s were the first to create synthetic materials. They used birch tar, which required a dry distillation process of underground heating to over 400° C to extract the adhesive. The film calls it " Neanderthal glue," and they created it around MYA. The glue requires a lot of bark, so they must have ramped up their production of the birch tar to a relatively large level . iv. According to the film, what evidence is there that the Neandertals were capable of speech? The film begins by explaining that in order to create this synthetic birch, they must have had to have a way to communicate with each other. Otherwise, they specifically refer to scientists like paleogeneticist Svante Pääbo looking into specific genes like FOXP2 in humans to see if Neanderthals had something comparable. This would require sequencing the entire human and Neanderthal genome, which was a formidable challenge that took years. To the scientists' surprise, the FOXP2 gene is shared with Neanderthals. They have the same order, chemical letters, and placement. Although they may not have had as advanced a language level as modern humans, they very likely had language to communicate within their own species and probably our own. This is because some modern humans (Europeans and Asians) have traces of Neanderthal DNA, meaning that there was interbreeding.

v. According to the film, what evidence is there of body adornment and art among the Neanderthals? Neanderthal symbolism has been found in a few different places, including a Neanderthal cave site in France that had manganese dioxide fragments with their tips worn down like a crayon. There is also evidence in Gibraltar that Neanderthals cut the feathers off birds of prey and other birds not commonly used as a food source to use them to decorate their hair and bodies. In Spain, seashells that contain hematite, or iron ore, used as pigment have been found. They have also found shells with neatly pierced holes to be worn as ornaments. In the same site in Spain, they found pointed horse bones with many reddish dots on the ends, which turned out to be hematite. The stained shells with pigments and colored minerals in conjunction with the horse bones imply that Neanderthal used these objects for body painting, or "makeup." Three Neanderthals found in a cave in Southern Spain may imply they participated in ritualistic burial. This includes the fact that the bones were placed in a fetal position, they were covered by rocks, and severed panther paws found at a burial were not disturbed by other predators, which could imply that they were intentionally placed there as grave goods. vi. The film presented at least two hypotheses that explain the disappearance of tse Neanderthals. What were they? Climate change combined with human intervention via both resource allocation and absorption into our population are some prevailing theories. According to modern scientific genetic studies, gradual absorption into the dominant population (humans) is the most likely hypothesis. We dominated them 10- 1 in numbers, so we "swamped" them essentially, and they acclimated within our human ancestors throughout tens of thousands of years. Ancient Europeans interbred with Neanderthals, which led to modern-day Tuscan Italians having the most Neanderthal DNA, up to 4%, proving that dispersal. vii. What evidence suggests that the Neanderthals actually don't fit the negative image so often associated with them? After viewing the film, how has your opinion of the Neanderthals changed (be specific)? As I stated in question one, this isn't the first time that I have discussed the negative biases of Neanderthals and reframing the narrative. The film showing the scientific evidence proving they are a more advanced hominid species than we initially thought they were in the past isn't news to me as an anthropology student, so the film didn't necessarily change my opinion of Neanderthals; it just added extra scientific evidence to support my opinion that they did have complex, robust cultures, language, and lead complex lives intertwined with Homo sapiens .

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Decoding Neanderthals Film

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