Bural practices in Neanderthals?

For decades the debate on the familial similarity of humans and Neanderthals has continue back and forth despite DNA evidence showing potential sub-species status. Their classification as human or otherwise determines whether they fall into the category of mortuary archaeology, the study of human funerary sites in the past. So far, it has been questionable whether or not Neanderthals showed the symbolic capacity necessary for the funerary behaviour displayed by humans. However, regardless of whether they are a sub-species or distinct species, new evidence is emerging which supports the idea that Neanderthals may have engaged in patterned mortuary behaviour.
Symbolic activity
While there is a larger question as to the symbolic capabilities and mental capacities of Neanderthals, the first question is what constitutes intentional burial and funerary behaviour. First, it is important to determine that the pit was intentionally dug for the purpose of putting the individual in the burial, which requires close attention to strata, the layers of soil. Second, intentional burials will be in locations that are clearly not due to animals dragging remains to a specific location. This means that intention is more probable when the individual is found in areas of high activity like the centre of a cave, such as the Kebara skeleton. Third, the remains are articulated. If remains are disarticulated it is possible that they were scavenged and not properly buried. (However, dis-articulation can also be a sign of revisiting a grave and memorialising the individual.) Fourth, inclusion of grave goods with the individual shows other individuals were involved in the disposal. However, artefacts are not necessarily grave goods: the individual may have died with the artefact or it may have been dropped at another time.
Palaeoanthropologists argue that the first known Neanderthal burial ground of Mediterranean Europe, dating to 50,000 years ago, is located at Sima de las Palomas in Murcia, Southeast Spain. Here, three individuals, an adult male, a young adult female and a juvenile, were found earlier this year buried underneath numerous rocks that were dropped on them from a height, their arms folded and hands placed closed to their heads. Two burnt panther paws found with them might have ritual significance or represent potential gifts, and although the rocks may have indicated the manner of death, palaeoanthropologists believe they were already deceased when buried.
Despite the significance of the Sima de las Palomas site, this is not the first proposed Neanderthal burial. At Shanidar Cave in Iraq there is the questionable flower burial dating to 60,000 years ago which, as the potential ‘first funeral’, has been the subject of debate since its initial discovery in the 1960s. Of nine Neanderthal skeletons found, one burial contained botanical remains of flowers including pollen, perhaps evidence of mortuary ritual. However, it is hard to ascertain whether the botanical remains were deliberately added, or whether the wind blew them into the pit that was used to prevent a dead body from polluting the site or attracting predators.
Another Neanderthal ‘burial’ was found at Kebara Cave in Israel in the early 1930’s again dating to 60,000 years ago. It included the torso of a Neanderthal and portions of a stone tool, potentially presenting an intentional burial with symbolic meaning due to the removal of portions of the skeleton.
Other possible Neanderthal burials include several caches over 100,000 years old, such as La Quina, France in the early 1900’s including fragmentary cranial remains of at least 22 individuals. L’Hortus, also in France and found in the 1960’s, included 20 individuals in a fissure, and Krapina Cave, Croatia, included 70 individuals discovered in 1899.
While burial may be intentional, the purpose behind it may have been to deter predators from the area of occupation or to deal with pollution. Moving beyond the argument of the ‘human-ness’ of the actions to look at the evidence from other perspectives we can see that there is no clear proof one way or the other. However, patterns may be more easily identified as further burials are discovered. And if all Neanderthals within a specific region are buried in the same position with the same artefacts, there may be a stronger argument for intention than just speculating on beliefs in the afterlife.

Works Cited

Pettitt, Paul, ‘When Burial Begins’, British Archaeology Magazine, Issue 66 (August 2002). Available online at: http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba66/feat1.shtml

Solecki, Ralph S., ‘The Implications of the Shandihar Cave Neanderthal Flower Burial’, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Volume 29 (July 1977), p. 114-125. Available online at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1977.tb41808.x/pdf

Solecki, Ralps S., ‘Shanidar IV, a Neanderthal Flower Burial in Northern Iraq’, Science, Volume 190, Issue 4217 (1975), p. 880-881.

Viegas. Jennifer, ‘Did Neanderthals Believe in the Afterlife?’ Discovery News, April 20, 2011, http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/neanderthal-burial-ground-afterlife-110420.html (last accessed: 29th April 2011)

Read more: Past Horizons: http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/05/2011/burial-practices-in-neanderthals

La balada de la cavernícola

La escritora norteamericana Jean M,Auel, lanza hoy a escala mundial la sexta y nueva entrega de su popular serie 'Los hijos de la tierra'. El libro, titulado 'La tierra de las cuevas pintadas', retoma la historia de Ayla, la primera y más célebre de las cromañones de la literatura desde que hace 30 años Jean M. Auel terminara el manuscrito de 'El clan del oso cavernario'. En la nueva aventura, los lectores van a conocer la madurez de Ayla, establecida en La Novena Caverna de los zelandonii, y en su nueva faceta de madre de Jonayla y de fiel esposa de Jondalar, con los conflictos típicos de un matrimonio en tiempos gélidos. En esta entrega, Ayla tratará de convertirse en líder espiritual para deleite de los lectores ansiosos de viajar de nuevo hasta la época glacial y comprobar si la protagonista logra o no convertirse en líder espiritual. 'La tierra de las cuevas pintadas' se lanza con una tirada de dos millones de ejemplares en todo el mundo, incluyendo España, Estados Unidos, Reino Unido, Alemania, Francia, Holanda, Francia, Serbia, Croacia, Noruega, Dinamarca, Finlandia y Japón. Dos millones que pasan a engrosar la cifra de 45 millones de ejemplares vendidos y que han dado celebridad a una autora que empezó a escribir la historia de Ayla en contra de la opinión de sus allegados y de más de una editorial reacia a apostar por nuevos experimentos. Pero tras 'El Clan del oso cavernario' (1986), siguieron 'El valle de los caballos' (1987); 'Los cazadores de mamuts' (1988); 'Las llanuras del tránsito' (1991) y 'Los refugios de piedra' (2002); cinco libro publicados en Maeva, editorial que tiene en Auel a su mascarón de proa con los más de tres millones de ejemplares vendidos en España y Latinoamérica, rol que esperan afianzar con una nueva entrega que lleva días despertando el interés de los blogueros. Para la escritora, nacida en Chicago en 1936, 'La tierra de las cuevas pintadas' significa volver a las páginas de cultura de los periódicos; sabedora de su popularidad y de los millones de lectores que esperaban ansiosos un reencuentro con Ayla, Auel ha realizado una agotadora promoción instalándose casi a perpetuidad en la planta quinta del hotel londinense The Langham. En una suite preparada para el evento, la escritora ha recibido a decenas de periodistas interesados en trasladar al lector los vericuetos y los por qué de la nueva entrega de 'Los hijos de la tierra'. Muchas entrevistas en las que Auel ha mostrado su deuda con Ayla. No en vano, Auel se convirtió en escritora el día que imaginó a Ayla, y toda su familia vive ahora de los usufructos que da una empresa que gravita alrededor de la cromañón y su creadora. Con la nueva entrega, la escritora residente en Portland, Oregón, espera cosechar un nuevo éxito de público, mantener el respeto de los arqueólogos y los antropólogos que ven en Auel la posibilidad de dar a conocer con rigurosidad sus investigaciones y sus trabajos tantas veces secretos, y en menor medida, la consideración de la crítica literaria. Para recabar información que diera verisimilitud a la novela, la escritora ha estado tres años viajando por Europa, con parada especial en España, país en el que ha visitado los ricos yacimientos de Abric Romaní, Ekain, Atapuerca y Altamira. El trabajo de documentación es fundamental para luego recrear una historia de ficción más cercana a las costumbres de hombre contemporáneo. Ese es uno de los secretos del éxito de una saga que no deja indiferente a nadie por una originalidad que ha despertado incluso, aunque con poco acierto, el interés de la industria de Hollywood. A pesar de su presumible éxito, 'La tierra de las cuevas pintadas' difícilmente tendrá continuidad. Con la sexta y última entrega parece que Ayla tendrá por fin un dorado retiro y su autora, la posibilidad de buscar nuevos horizontes literarios. Fuente: El Mundo: http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2011/03/29/cultura/1301383456.html?a=878359d58337f3deecd96a011f6eb84f&t=1301391879&numero=

Neanderthals could control fire

A new study shows clear evidence of the continuous control of fire by Neanderthals in Europe dating back roughly 400,000 years. The conclusion comes from the study of scores of ancient archaeological research sites in Europe that show convincing evidence of long-term fire control.
Paola Villa, a curator at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, in the United States and co-author of a paper concerning the study, said “Until now, many scientists have thought Neanderthals had some fires but did not have continuous use of fire. We were not expecting to find a record of so many Neanderthal sites exhibiting such good evidence of the sustained use of fire over time.”
“We were not expecting to find a record of so many Neanderthal sites exhibiting such good evidence of the sustained use of fire over time
”The paper on the subject was published in the March 14 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
As part of the study the researchers created a database of 141 potential fireplace sites in Europe dating from 1.2 million years ago to 35,000 years ago, assigning an index of confidence to each site. Evidence for the sustained use of fire includes the presence of charcoal, heated stone artefacts, burned bones, heated sediments, hearths and rough dates obtained from heated stone artefacts. Sites with two or more of the characteristics were interpreted as solid evidence for the control of fire by the inhabitants.
A new University of Colorado Boulder study indicates Neanderthals had achieved continuous control of fire by roughly 400,000 years ago. Illustration courtesy
The second major finding in the PNAS study – perhaps even more surprising than the first – was that Neanderthal predecessors pushed into Europe’s colder northern latitudes more than 800,000 years ago without the habitual control of fire, said research partner, Professor Wil Roebroeks of Leiden University in the Netherlands. Archaeologists have long believed the control of fire was necessary for migrating early humans as a way to reduce their energy loss during winters when temperatures plunged below freezing and resources became more scarce.
“This confirms a suspicion we had that went against the opinions of most scientists, who believed it was impossible for humans to penetrate into cold, temperate regions without fire,” Villa said.
Recent evidence from an 800,000-year-old site in England known as Happisburgh indicates hominids – likely Homo heidelbergenis, the forerunner of Neanderthals – adapted to chilly environments in the region without fire, Roebroeks said.
The simplest explanation is that there was no habitual use of fire by early humans prior to roughly 400,000 years ago, indicating that fire was not an essential component of the behaviour of the first occupants of Europe’s northern latitudes, said Roebroeks. “It is difficult to imagine these people occupying very cold climates without fire, yet this seems to be the case.”
While the oldest traces of human presence in Europe date to more than 1 million years ago, the earliest evidence of habitual Neanderthal fire use comes from the Beeches Pit site in England dating to roughly 400,000 years ago, said Villa. The site contained scattered pieces of heated flint, evidence of burned bones at high temperatures, and individual pockets of previously heated sediments. Neanderthals, like other early humans, created and used a unique potpourri of stone tools, evidence that they were the ancient inhabitants of particular sites in Europe.
The sites catalogued by the team were dated by several methods, including electron spin resonance, paleomagnetism and thermoluminescence. Some research teams also have used microscopic studies of sediment at sites to confirm the presence of ashes. While some of the best evidence for controlled use of fire in Europe comes from caves, there are many open-air sites with solid evidence of controlled fire, they said.
According to Villa, one of the most spectacular uses of fire by Neanderthals was in the production of a sticky liquid called pitch from the bark of birch trees that was used to haft, or fit wooden shafts on stone tools. Since the only way to create pitch from the trees is to burn bark peels in the absence of air, archaeologists surmise Neanderthals dug holes in the ground, inserted birch bark peels, lit them and covered the hole tightly with stones to block incoming air.
“For those who say Neanderthals did not have elevated mental capacities, I think this is good evidence to the contrary
“This means Neanderthals were not only able to use naturally occurring adhesive gums as part of their daily lives, they were actually able to manufacture their own,” Villa said. “For those who say Neanderthals did not have elevated mental capacities, I think this is good evidence to the contrary.”
Many archaeologists believe Neanderthals and other early hominids struck pieces of flint with chunks of iron pyrite to create the sparks that made fire and may well have conserved and transported fire from site to site.
Some anthropologists have proposed that Neanderthals became extinct because their cognitive abilities were inferior, including a lack of long-term planning, said Villa. But the archaeological record shows Neanderthals drove herds of big game animals into dead-end ravines and ambushed them, as evidenced by repeatedly used kill sites – a sign of long-term planning and coordination among hunters, she said.
Recent findings have even indicated Neanderthals were cooking, as evidenced by tiny bits of cooked plant material recovered from their teeth.

Read more: Past Horizons: http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/03/2011/neanderthals-could-control-fire

Neanderthals were nifty at controlling fire, says CU-Boulder-led study

A new study involving the University of Colorado Boulder shows clear evidence of the continuous control of fire by Neanderthals in Europe dating back roughly 400,000 years, yet another indication that they weren't dimwitted brutes as often portrayed.

The conclusion comes from the study of scores of ancient archaeological research sites in Europe that show convincing evidence of long-term fire control by Neanderthals, said Paola Villa, a curator at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. Villa co-authored a paper on the new study with Professor Wil Roebroeks of Leiden University in the Netherlands.

"Until now, many scientists have thought Neanderthals had some fires but did not have continuous use of fire," said Villa. "We were not expecting to find a record of so many Neanderthal sites exhibiting such good evidence of the sustained use of fire over time."

A paper on the subject was published in the March 14 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Neanderthals are thought to have evolved in Europe roughly 400,000 to 500,000 years ago and went extinct about 30,000 years ago. Neanderthals ranged over much of Europe and stretched to Central Asia. Neanderthals were stockier than anatomically modern humans and even shared the same terrain for a time, and there is evidence that contemporary humans carry a small amount of Neanderthal DNA. Modern humans began migrating out of Africa to Europe some 40,000 years ago.

Archaeologists consider the emergence of stone tool manufacturing and the control of fire as the two hallmark events in the technological evolution of early humans. While experts agree the origins of stone tools date back at least 2.5 million years in Africa, the origin of fire control has been a prolonged and heated debate.

Villa and Roebroeks, who together speak and read six languages, have visited or worked at dozens of the Neanderthal excavation sites in Europe. They also combed libraries throughout Europe and the United States for research papers on evidence for early fire use in Europe, contacting researchers involved in the excavations when possible for additional information and insight.

As part of the study they created a database of 141 potential fireplace sites in Europe dating from 1.2 million years ago to 35,000 years ago, assigning an index of confidence to each site. Evidence for the sustained use of fire includes the presence of charcoal, heated stone artifacts, burned bones, heated sediments, hearths and rough dates obtained from heated stone artifacts. Sites with two or more of the characteristics were interpreted as solid evidence for the control of fire by the inhabitants.

The second major finding in the PNAS study -- perhaps even more surprising than the first -- was that Neanderthal predecessors pushed into Europe's colder northern latitudes more than 800,000 years ago without the habitual control of fire, said Roebroecks. Archaeologists have long believed the control of fire was necessary for migrating early humans as a way to reduce their energy loss during winters when temperatures plunged below freezing and resources became more scarce.

"This confirms a suspicion we had that went against the opinions of most scientists, who believed it was impossible for humans to penetrate into cold, temperate regions without fire," Villa said.

Recent evidence from an 800,000-year-old site in England known as Happisburgh indicates hominids -- likely Homo heidelbergenis, the forerunner of Neanderthals -- adapted to chilly environments in the region without fire, Roebroeks said.

The simplest explanation is that there was no habitual use of fire by early humans prior to roughly 400,000 years ago, indicating that fire was not an essential component of the behavior of the first occupants of Europe's northern latitudes, said Roebroeks. "It is difficult to imagine these people occupying very cold climates without fire, yet this seems to be the case."

While the oldest traces of human presence in Europe date to more than 1 million years ago, the earliest evidence of habitual Neanderthal fire use comes from the Beeches Pit site in England dating to roughly 400,000 years ago, said Villa. The site contained scattered pieces of heated flint, evidence of burned bones at high temperatures, and individual pockets of previously heated sediments. Neanderthals, like other early humans, created and used a unique potpourri of stone tools, evidence that they were the ancient inhabitants of particular sites in Europe.

The sites catalogued by the team were dated by several methods, including electron spin resonance, paleomagnetism and thermoluminescence. Some research teams also have used microscopic studies of sediment at sites to confirm the presence of ashes. While some of the best evidence for controlled use of fire in Europe comes from caves, there are many open-air sites with solid evidence of controlled fire, they said.

According to Villa, one of the most spectacular uses of fire by Neanderthals was in the production of a sticky liquid called pitch from the bark of birch trees that was used by Neanderthals to haft, or fit wooden shafts on, stone tools. Since the only way to create pitch from the trees is to burn bark peels in the absence of air, archaeologists surmise Neanderthals dug holes in the ground, inserted birch bark peels, lit them and covered the hole tightly with stones to block incoming air.

"This means Neanderthals were not only able to use naturally occurring adhesive gums as part of their daily lives, they were actually able to manufacture their own," Villa said. "For those who say Neanderthals did not have elevated mental capacities, I think this is good evidence to the contrary."

Many archaeologists believe Neanderthals and other early hominids struck pieces of flint with chunks of iron pyrite to create the sparks that made fire and may well have conserved and transported fire from site to site.

Some anthropologists have proposed that Neanderthals became extinct because their cognitive abilities were inferior, including a lack of long-term planning, said Villa. But the archaeological record shows Neanderthals drove herds of big game animals into dead-end ravines and ambushed them, as evidenced by repeatedly used kill sites -- a sign of long-term planning and coordination among hunters, she said.

Recent findings have even indicated Neanderthals were cooking, as evidenced by tiny bits of cooked plant material recovered from their teeth.

Read more: Eurek Alert: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-03/uoca-nwn031111.php

Los neandertales trajeron el fuego a Europa

Si, hace 40.000 años, un Homo sapiens le hubiese pedido fuego a un neandertal, este hubiera sabido ayudarle sin problemas. La especie extinta llevaba más de 300.000 años usando las llamas de forma regular para hacer mejores herramientas y abrigarse del frío europeo.
El dominio del fuego en Europa ya lo habían demostrado varios antiguos asentamientos en Reino Unido y Alemania y ahora lo confirma la revisión más completa de los datos existentes en 141 yacimientos del continente. El trabajo, publicado en PNAS, apunta que la aparición de hogueras en Europa, hace hasta 400.000 años, coincide con la aparición del linaje neandertal, a quien los autores atribuyen el dominio del fuego en el continente. Los resultados también implican que los ancestros de esta especie que habitaron Europa hace más de un millón de años y entre los que se encuentra el hombre de Atapuerca, colonizaron el continente sin saber hacer fuego.
El trabajo ha analizado 16 excavaciones españolas
"La fabricación de herramientas de piedra y el control del fuego son los dos momentos más importantes de la evolución de los primeros humanos", señala el trabajo, firmado por Paola Villa, de la Universidad de Colorado (EEUU) y Wil Roebroeks, de la Universidad de Leiden (Países Bajos). Sin embargo, la importancia del momento no está acompañada de datos concluyentes que permitan detallar cómo sucedió aquel dominio.
Villa y Roebroeks han recopilado información de 141 yacimientos europeos, 16 de ellos en España, que datan de entre hace 1,2 millones de años y 35.000 años. La primera fecha corresponde a los restos de los Homo antecessor que vivieron en la sierra de Atapuerca (en Burgos), una población a la que se considera como los primeros europeos. El segundo está muy cercano a la fecha en la que se extinguieron los neandertales, por razones aún desconocidas.
Atapuerca y Orce
«Se trata del estudio más completo de este tipo hecho hasta la fecha»
Los dos autores han repasado los restos de hogueras (carbón, piedras o huesos quemados, herramientas fabricadas al fuego, sedimentos que fueron calentados a altas temperaturas...) en cada uno de los yacimientos y han determinado en cuáles se dan pruebas "sólidas" de intervención humana. "Se trata del trabajo más completo de este tipo hecho hasta la fecha, no existe una base de datos igual", señala Villa.
De los 19 yacimientos anteriores a unos 400.000 años, no hay rastro de fuego en ninguno. Esto incluye Atapuerca y también Orce, en Granada, donde hay presencia humana en forma de herramientas líticas. También entra en la lista Happisburgh, en Reino Unido, donde el año pasado se hallaron herramientas hechas posiblemente por poblaciones de antecessor y que, por ahora, constituyen el asentamiento humano más al norte que se conoce de aquella época.
Si aquellos colonizadores disfrutaron del fuego, lo hicieron de forma casual, robando llamas de rescoldos dejados por incendios. "El trabajo nos recuerda que el dominio del fuego en Europa fue tardío", señala Antonio Rosas, investigador del CSIC que estudia los restos neandertales de El Sidrón, en Asturias, donde tampoco se han hallado restos de hogueras. "El norte del planeta se ocupó sin fuego y hubo casi 1,5 millones de años de evolución humana sin hogueras", recuerda. A falta de más datos, se piensa que aquellos homínidos se adentraban en zonas cada vez más al norte aprovechando épocas de temperaturas altas. Cuando el frío volvía a apoderarse el norte, los grupos quedaban atrapados en el frío y perecían.
Los datos confirman un control de las llamas muy avanzado
Justo a partir de los 400.000 años comienzan a aparecer en Europa signos claros de hogueras humanas que se hacen cada vez más comunes a menudo que pasa el tiempo. Aunque la razón de ese boom del fuego se desconoce, Villa apunta una respuesta. La fecha "coincide" con la aparición del neandertal en Europa donde ya habitaban el antecessor y el Homo heidelbergensis, como atestigua el cráneo neandertal más antiguo que se conoce, en Swanscombe, Reino Unido, " de unos 400.000 años" según Villa. "El dominio del fuego pudo deberse a la llegada de esta especie", opina Villa.
Su revisión habla de casos en los que los neandertales muestran un control de las llamas muy similar al del sapiens, incluido el desarrollo de una especie de pegamento para adherir hojas de piedra afiladas a mangos de madera, o el hallazgo en una hoguera neandertal de un tipo de carbón que sólo se daba a unos ocho kilómetros de donde se hizo el fuego. "Los neandertales no estaban esperando a que cayese un rayo para aprovechar el fuego", asegura la autora.
"Hasta ahora no había un trabajo que repasase la situación general como este", explica Robert Sala, profesor de la Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona) y director de las excavaciones en Orce, quien sin embargo pone pegas a las conclusiones de Villa. "Los heidelbergensis y los neandertales apenas mostraban diferencias", lo que no apoya una supuesta ventaja fisiológica de los neandertales a la hora de domesticar el fuego.

Fuente: Público: http://www.publico.es/ciencias/366105/los-neandertales-trajeron-el-fuego-a-europa

Neandertales y Homo sapiens se separaron antes de lo que se pensaba

Neandertales y Homo sapiens se separaron antes de lo que se pensaba

BURGOS, EFE La divergencia entre el linaje neandertal y el del hombre actual, Homo sapiens, pudo producirse hace al menos un millón de años, más de 500.000 años antes de lo que se pensaba hasta ahora en virtud de los análisis basados en ADN. Así se recoge en una tesis doctoral realizada por Aida Gómez Robles investigadora del Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, (CENIEH), con sede en Burgos.
Esta investigadora, becada por la Fundación Atapuerca y asociada a la Universidad de Granada, ha analizado, utilizando métodos cuantitativos, los dientes de prácticamente todas las especies de homínidos que han existido en los últimos 4 millones de años, logrando identificar rasgos neandertales en poblaciones europeas muy antiguas.
El objetivo fundamental de esta investigación ha sido reconstruir la historia evolutiva de la especie humana a partir de la información proporcionada por los dientes, que son, según los expertos en evolución humana, los restos más numerosos y mejor conservados del registro fósil.
Para ello ha analizado una amplia muestra de fósiles dentales procedentes de diversos yacimientos de África, Asia y Europa, valorando las diferencias morfológicas de cada clase dental y la capacidad de cada diente aislado para determinar la especie del individuo al que perteneció. La investigadora ha concluido que «es posible determinar correctamente la especie a la que perteneció un diente aislado con una probabilidad de éxito que varía entre el 60 por ciento y el 80 por ciento».

Fuente: La Opinión de Zamora: http://www.laopiniondezamora.es/castilla-leon/2010/05/13/neandertales-homo-sapiens--separaron-pensaba/434845.html