Other Evidence of Neandertal Culture
Much can be inferred about Neandertal culture from the archaeological evidence. For instance, it is probable that in colder climates they wore some sort of protective clothing to keep warm. In all likelihood, they used animal skins for this purpose. There are two sources of indirect evidence for this. First, many Neandertal sites have stone awls or borers. These were flakes that had been shaped to produce a beak-like projection on one end or side. Awls are usually used to punch or drill holes in relatively soft materials such as wood and leather. The second source of evidence is anatomical. A Neandertal skull from the French site of La Ferrassie has a peculiar wear pattern on its incisor teeth. …show more content…
Fifty stone tools from two Neandertal sites in southern Ukraine (Buran Kaya III and Starosele) have been found to have microscopic residues of wood, starch, and other organic substances. The residues on the bases of scrapers and combination spear-point/knives indicate that they were hafted on wood handles 80,000-32,000 years ago. Residues on the working edges and sharp tips of these tools show that they were used to process both plants and animals, including waterfowl. At two cave sites in Gibraltar (Vanguard and Gotham's Caves) there is strong evidence that 28,000 years ago Neandertals exploited marine food sources including mollusks, seals, dolphins, and fish. In addition, they butchered large land animals including wild pigs, red deer, and ibex. Cereal grains have been found stuck between the teeth of several Neandertals. Some of those grains appear to have been cooked. All of this evidence is important because it shows that Neandertals were more capable and flexible in tool making and food acquisition than had generally been thought.
There is circumstantial evidence that some Neandertals also obtained food at times by cannibalism. At Moula-Guercy Cave in France, 120,000-100,000 year-old human bones from 6 skeletons show clear evidence of meat and marrow removal in the same way that Neandertals processed game animal carcasses. Human cannibalism may have much greater antiquity …show more content…
The earliest convincing evidence of fire use for cooking appears at the 780,000-400,000 year old late Homo erectus site at Zhoukoudian near Beijing, China and the 400,000 year old Homo heidelbergensis or early archaic human site of Terra Amata near Nice on the French Mediterranean coast. In both cases the evidence is primarily in the form of food refuse bones that were apparently charred during cooking. In addition, there is possible evidence of simple fire hearths at Terra Amata. Unfortunately, there still is not sufficient evidence at any of these sites to say conclusively that there was controlled fire in the sense of being able to create it at will. However, by 100,000 years ago, there is abundant evidence of regular fire use at Neandertal sites. By that time, they evidently were able to create fires when they wished to, and they used them for multiple purposes. It is not known how Neandertals started fires, but it is generally assumed that their method involved striking flint with iron pyrite nodules in order to produce sparks. It has also been suggested that they probably conserved fire and carried it from place to place when
Much can be inferred about Neandertal culture from the archaeological evidence. For instance, it is probable that in colder climates they wore some sort of protective clothing to keep warm. In all likelihood, they used animal skins for this purpose. There are two sources of indirect evidence for this. First, many Neandertal sites have stone awls or borers. These were flakes that had been shaped to produce a beak-like projection on one end or side. Awls are usually used to punch or drill holes in relatively soft materials such as wood and leather. The second source of evidence is anatomical. A Neandertal skull from the French site of La Ferrassie has a peculiar wear pattern on its incisor teeth. …show more content…
Fifty stone tools from two Neandertal sites in southern Ukraine (Buran Kaya III and Starosele) have been found to have microscopic residues of wood, starch, and other organic substances. The residues on the bases of scrapers and combination spear-point/knives indicate that they were hafted on wood handles 80,000-32,000 years ago. Residues on the working edges and sharp tips of these tools show that they were used to process both plants and animals, including waterfowl. At two cave sites in Gibraltar (Vanguard and Gotham's Caves) there is strong evidence that 28,000 years ago Neandertals exploited marine food sources including mollusks, seals, dolphins, and fish. In addition, they butchered large land animals including wild pigs, red deer, and ibex. Cereal grains have been found stuck between the teeth of several Neandertals. Some of those grains appear to have been cooked. All of this evidence is important because it shows that Neandertals were more capable and flexible in tool making and food acquisition than had generally been thought.
There is circumstantial evidence that some Neandertals also obtained food at times by cannibalism. At Moula-Guercy Cave in France, 120,000-100,000 year-old human bones from 6 skeletons show clear evidence of meat and marrow removal in the same way that Neandertals processed game animal carcasses. Human cannibalism may have much greater antiquity …show more content…
The earliest convincing evidence of fire use for cooking appears at the 780,000-400,000 year old late Homo erectus site at Zhoukoudian near Beijing, China and the 400,000 year old Homo heidelbergensis or early archaic human site of Terra Amata near Nice on the French Mediterranean coast. In both cases the evidence is primarily in the form of food refuse bones that were apparently charred during cooking. In addition, there is possible evidence of simple fire hearths at Terra Amata. Unfortunately, there still is not sufficient evidence at any of these sites to say conclusively that there was controlled fire in the sense of being able to create it at will. However, by 100,000 years ago, there is abundant evidence of regular fire use at Neandertal sites. By that time, they evidently were able to create fires when they wished to, and they used them for multiple purposes. It is not known how Neandertals started fires, but it is generally assumed that their method involved striking flint with iron pyrite nodules in order to produce sparks. It has also been suggested that they probably conserved fire and carried it from place to place when