Human Origins and the Neanderthal

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, includes among its definitions of Neanderthal the slang meaning "crude, boorish or slow-witted person." Recent evidence, however, suggests that this usage perpetuates a misconception of these early hominids and their lifestyle. Neanderthals take their name from the Neander Valley in Germany, the location of an early anthropological find that provided evidence of their existence. They ranged and hunted for about 250,000 years during the late Pleistocene Epoch in the general area of modern Europe and west Asia, fading into extinction approximately 28,000 years ago. In contrast to their dull-witted reputation, Neanderthals were able to survive for a quarter-million years in harsh and changing environments, proof of their well-developed hunting skills. In contrast, our direct human ancestors probably did not move into and survive in colder climates until about 40,000 years ago.

Neanderthals were portrayed as subhuman brutes by most anthropologists of the 19th and early 20th century. This characterization may have been influenced by the hominid's decidedly nonhuman facial features, which included a large brow and nose, sloping forehead, and receding chin. The subspecies was generally depicted as having a hairy appearance, not unlike the mythical " Bigfoot." Seen as little more than crude scavengers, Neanderthals were assumed to have been incapable of language or finer tool skills.

Countering the "brute" representation of the Neanderthal is a 2003 study that found that the hominid's thumb and forefinger could oppose, probably giving the subspecies significant fine manual dexterity. In addition, recently discovered evidence suggests that Neanderthals deliberately butchered hunting kills with stone axes and knives and shared the proceeds of the hunt in an organized way with their clan members. Some of the unearthed cutting tools were fashioned to be hafted onto wooden shafts or handles, while others show evidence of use for scraping hides, so that the skins could be fashioned into clothes or shelters. Additionally, Neanderthals appear to have had a sense of style and color, using bone, ivory, and animal teeth as ornamentations.

Skeletal evidence suggests that Neanderthals generally lived about 45 years and probably looked a great deal like cold-adapted humans, such as Eskimos. Short in stature with long trunks and arms, the Neanderthal was stronger than a human of similar size, with a brain that was, on average, slightly larger than that of modern humans. Skeletal remains also indicate that multiple fractures were not uncommon among Neanderthals. Indeed, the fact that some of these hominids survived after disabling bone injuries indicates that the subspecies was capable of sustaining long-term caring relationships. Neanderthals lived in close groups of 10 to 15, which means that an individual could rely on the help of his or her fellow group members during a period of recuperation. Pollen discovered near excavated remains indicates that the hominids took care while burying their dead and incorporated the intentional use of symbolic objects and flowers in the burial.

Many have asked whether the Neanderthals are part of the human genetic line. Research has focused on the "out-of-Africa" versus "multiregional" theories of human development. Proponents of the out-of-Africa view see all modern humans as descendants of an original restricted gene pool in central Africa. The multiregionalists, on the other hand, see human origins as more diverse, resulting, they assume, from genetic mixing, including with Neanderthals. Researchers have been exploring Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) for clues of any interbreeding, but there is considerable dispute as to whether or not these small samples of bone DNA support the theory.

Whether Neanderthals do or do not form a part of our modern gene pool, they do represent another strand in the complex evolution of modern humans. The Neanderthals in ice-age central Europe, eating meat the clan had hunted, butchered, and shared; living and caring in an extended group; and burying their dead, were not, perhaps, so very different from us.