Decoding Neanderthals

Neanderthal man was "the brute of Ice Age Europe" with "the mother of all image problems." Stocky, short, muscular, and rather stupid looking, Neanderthals were hunter gatherers who thrived for about 300,000 years. Filmmaker Nick Clarke Powell's PBS-aired NOVA documentary draws on newly discovered insights and information to try to revise the popular image of Neanderthals (whose lifespan probably averaged only 30 years), who hunted using primitive tools, and likely had a rudimentary language (if any). The coming of the ancestors of modern man, homo sapiens, would doom Neanderthals, who disappeared about 40,000 years ago. Modern research has discovered that the Neanderthals had a greater understanding of tools than previously believed, striking stones in a precise way to create sharp spear points necessary for close contact hunting. Neanderthals also used sticky pitch from trees to attach tips to clubs or sticks. Long thought to have created no art or personal ornaments, new finds point to the use of feathers, bones, and body paint, likely created to distinguish friend from foe. Little is known about the Neanderthal use of symbols, rituals, or religious beliefs, but there is some evidence that some burials were performed, perhaps preparing the dead for life after an earthly existence. For a period, Neanderthals and homo sapiens shared the same space and probably commingled; rather than being eliminated through warfare, Neanderthals were likely bred out, absorbed by the larger, more intelligent homo sapiens population. Scientists, archaeologists, and historians here note that Neanderthal DNA still exists in many human populations, which probably helped our ancestors adapt to cold and inhospitable environments. Offering an interesting update to our understanding of Neanderthals, this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)