La Sima de los Huesos
*430,000ya
* Cave accessed by 14m deep
chimney/hole in roof
* Thousands of fossils from min.28
individuals of Neanderthal clade
La Sima de los Huesos and DNA evidence
- Originally thought to be Homo heidelbergensis specimens
- The oldest aDNA ever sequenced (to date …). aDNA proved they were more closely related to later hominins in Europe than heildelbergensis
- Good preservation conditions at La Sima: humid, constant temperature, protection
- La Sima fossils now re-classified as Neanderthal, not Homo heidelbergensis
- But more closely related to the Denisovans than to the ‘classic’ later Neanderthals,
When was the divergence between Neanderthal and modern human
- Divergence between Neanderthal and
modern human lineages previously dated
to around 400,000 - aDNA available at the time
- Cranial variation
- Split coincides with appearance of Mode 3
technologies after ~300ka - Last Common Ancestor = later Homo
heidelbergensis (Homo helmei?) e.g.
Florisbad - New dates for divergence based on an updated mutation rate:
- 750-550ka (Meyer et al. 2016)
- > 800ka (Gomez-Roble 2019)
*Humans and Neanderthals split from H. heidelbergensis - This could push the Last
Common ancestor back to: - earlier Homo heidelbergensis
(Homo rhodesiensis) e.g. Kabwe - Or even Homo antecessor?
Homo neanderthalensis location
- Across Europe & SW Asia
Homo neanderthalensis body size
~1.5-1.68m, 55-80kg
Homo neanderthalensis brain size
1172-1740cm3 (bigger than homo sapien)
Homo neanderthalensis technology
- Technology: mode 3 (Prepared Core Technology)
Homo neanderthalensis skull features
*Forehead low and sloping
*Occipital ‘bun’
*Pronounced brow ridge Cheek teeth
*Smaller: gap behind last molar (‘retromolar
gap’)
*Face long and Projecting
*Very large nose
*Chin usually absent
*Large skulls: 1,245-1,740cc
(modern = ~1,340cc)
*Large, forward positioned front teeth: very heavy wear, often used as extra grip?
Generalized foraging
- Indiscriminate, unselective and
opportunistic encounter hunting of
any and all available prey in the vicinity
Logistic collecting
Prey choice made on basis of costs
and benefits of particular taxa and
logistic forays made out to find them
Neanderthal cannibalism?
Moula-Guercy, France
* Cutmark patterns the same as those on
definite food bones
Krapina Cave
* Postmortem processing of corpses with stone tools, for burial?
Where cutmarks were found:
* Similar to historic site at which secondary burial was practised
Not similar to reindeer bone
* Perimortem modifications:
* Vindija; Marillac; Combe Grenal; Zafarraya
Neanderthal cannibalism- Goyet cave
*99 Neanderthal bones from 5 individuals (4 adults and 1 child)
*Almost 1/3rd of bones bear cutmarks
*Lower limbs were de-fleshed, upper limbs possibly disarticulated, ribs were dismembered and thoracic muscles removed
*Marrow extracted from long bones, esp femurs and tibias
*Possible human chewing of phalanges
*Some femur bones used as retouchers
Neanderthal shoulders
- Relatively narrow/shallow supraglenoid fossa
- Wider scapulae
- Dorsal sulcate axillary border
- Long collarbone
- Wide shoulders
Neanderthal arm asymmetry
- Neanderthals: 24-57% difference between R and L arms
- Holocene H. sapiens: 5-14%
- Modern human tennis players/cricketers: 28-57%
Neanderthal Hand adaptations for power grip
- Long thumb
- Wide fingertips
- Pronounced muscle attachments
- Flat metacarpals
Neanderthal lives: mortality profiles
- Lifespan shorter: 80% mortality by
40 years old
Trauma and Neanderthal care
Shanidar 1: male, 35-50
* Injury to cranium: crushing fracture above left eye (sharp force trauma from lithic point or blade?)
* Healed but permanent deformation and probably blind in the left eye
* Withered right arm, possibly from birth
* Osteoarthritis and fractures in left foot
* (aka ‘Creb’ from The Clan of the Cave Bear)
Shanidar 3: male, 40-50
* Severe degenerative joint disease in R foot
* Sharp force trauma to rib, lithic still embedded
* Partial collapse of lung
* Partial remodelling of bone around lithic i.e. survived at least 2 weeks, possibly 2 months, after injury
* Restricted damage (just one rib) and angle of damage: thrown spear (H.
sapiens?!)
The ‘Old Man’ of La Chapelle aux Saints: male, ~40
* Widespread degeneration and arthritis in the joints, especially left hip
* Several healed wounds, including a fractured rib
* Had lost most of his teeth so would have had difficulty chewing
* Most complete fossil known at the time of discovery: reconstruction led to
erroneous picture of slouched, shuffling
Neanderthals!
