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September 30, 2006
A Neanderthal Slept Here
John Hawks directs us to an article in Spiegal Online (in German) on a recent discovery in the Rhineland: the remains of a 120,000 year old Neanderthal dwelling. I will steal John's translation of the most important paragraph.
The researchers found an oval recess, which they realized was the outline of a hut. Around the periphery of the house were 60 flint tools, including axes and blades for cutting skin or meat. According to the Rhine Office for Conservation and Monuments, the remains are approximately 120,000 years old and therefore belong to early Neandertals.
On the basis of a deepening in the oval recess, the archaeologists speculate that the exit was to the east. I wouldn't over interpret an eastern orientation if that is in fact what it is. One eastern oriented dwelling does not a cultural pattern make. The archaeologists plan to look for postholes. The placement and angle of postholes could indicate whether the dwelling was pointed like a tepee or a more rounded hut.
There are a couple of pictures, but as John says, "it is not entirely clear what we are looking at. . . " More information please, we always want more information.
Posted by Duane Smith at September 30, 2006 9:11 AM | Read more on Paleoanthropology |
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Comments
What are your thoughts regarding the role of Neanderthal in hominid evolution? Do you think modern humans have some of their DNA or was the Neanderthal line one that went extinct as humans replaced them, disallowing any gene flow?
The more I read, the more I'm starting to be convinced that Neanderthal wasn't replaced so much as assimilated by modern humans.
Posted by: cfeagans at October 1, 2006 9:38 AM
Carl,
I'm not sure I'm competent to have thoughts on this issue. You are correct that some recent papers suggest that we may have Neanderthal genes among our own. If you'd asked a year ago, I would have said there was not interbreeding. But it's not so clear now. I think we need to hold off judgment until more of the Neanderthal DNA is sequenced. Then the real debate will begin!
Posted by: Duane at October 1, 2006 10:04 AM
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