Where in the world?

Neanderthals enjoyed a wide geographical distribution. Today, archeologists have identified more than 70 Neanderthal sites in Europe, the Near East, the Middle East, and in Western Asia (Maher 2012). 

Neanderthal remains tend to be particularly well preserved, since they lived in lands rich in cave sites. Here are two examples of notable Neanderthal cave sites. 

La Chapelle-aux-Saints, cave entrances

La Chapelle-aux-Saints in France is where three priests discovered the fossil remains of the individual who would come to be called "the Old Man". The date was 1908, and they were the most complete Neanderthal remains found so far. The paleontologist Marcellin Boule was responsible for the earliest reconstruction. 

Neanderthal, according to Boule

I mentioned in an earlier post that this particular individual was later found to have been afflicted by severe arthritis, which might have influenced Boule's original reconstruction. What's interesting about the Old Man is that because of his physical disabilities, he likely wouldn't have lived so long on his own. Some have suggested that given Neanderthal's meat-heavy diet, he would not have been able to survive without someone pre-processing his food for him.

Large, happy, and helpful social network?

Another interesting Neanderthal site is Kebara cave in Israel. Kebara cave was inhabited by Neanderthals between 60 kya and 48 kya BP. D.

Kebara Cave, Israel 

The cave was first excavated by Garrod and F. Turville-Petre in the 1930's, then by Ofer Bar-Yosef in the 1980's.

Ofer Bar-Yosef, in the flesh (not only bones)

A drawing of "Moshe"

In 1982, archeologists discovered the most complete Neanderthals specimen found to date. Nicknamed "Moshe", this particular specimen was dated to 60 kya BP.

Interestingly, the cranium and most of the lower limbs were missing, while the hyoid bone survived the test of time. From the position of the mandible, the hyoid bone, and the right upper third molar, archeologists can say with certainty that the skull was not removed by an animal. Here, the authors argue that this deliberate burial is our first evidence of "later human intervention in a primary burial" (529).

At the time of death, Moshe would have been between 25-35 years old. He had a greater mean stature than European Neanderthals, which is consistent with other fossil remains found in this region (530).

This individual is so well preserved that an analysis of his remains has yielded two important discoveries. I've already mentioned the first in an earlier post: the presence of a hyoid bone suggests that Neanderthals' capacities for speech were just as advanced as those of AMH. The other exciting finding is that the pelvic inlet matches also matches that of AMH--their bipedal locomotion would have been just as efficient as our own. 

Bibliography 

• Bar-Yosef, O., B.  Vandermeersch, A-M.  Tillier, S. Weiner , B. Arensburg, A. Belfer-Coher, P. Goldberg, H.  Laville, L. Meignen, Y. Rak , J.D.  Speth , and E. Tchernov. "The Excavations in Kebara Cave, Mt. Carmel ." Current Anthropology 33.5 (1992): 497-550. Print.
• "Kebara Cave - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., 4 July 2012. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kebara_Cave>.
• Maher, Lisa. "The Middle Paleolithic to Upper Paleolithic Transition". Anthropology 128. 105 Stanley. 9/12/2012
• Mihaela, Tatjana. "HUMAN ANCESTORS - NEANDERTHALS & CRO-MAGNONS - Roots of humanity." Tatjana-Mihaela on HubPages. N.p., 24 Apr. 2010. Web. 9 Nov. 2012. <http://tatjana-mihaela.hubpages.com/hub/prehistoric-humans-neanderthals>.
• Rast, Tim. "Elfshot: Sticks and Stones: The Old Man of La Chapelle-aux-Saints." Elfshot: Sticks and Stones. N.p., 26 Nov. 2011. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. <http://elfshotgallery.blogspot.com/2011/10/old-man-of-la-chapelle-aux-saints.html>.