The Origins of Language: Chapter 2, Part 2
Enter the Neanderthal
Claim:
In 1857, an archaeologist examining a cave in the Neander Valley of Germany near Dusseldorf found part of an ancient human skull of a type never before encountered.
Research:
The year is technically correct, in that the first time the findings were discussed was at a conference in 1857. The discovery actually took place in 1856.
If we want to get more technical (which is, after all, what we’re here for), the bones were found by unnamed workers. The bones were then brought by the cave’s co-owners to a local fossil collector/paleoanthropologist.
It wasn’t just part of a skull (specifically the skull cap); two femora, three right arm bones, two left arm bones, the ilium, the scapula, and rib fragments were also found.
Bryson is, thankfully, correct on the location.1
Verdict: Mostly true.
Claim:
The skull was from a person belonging to a race of people who ranged across Europe, the Near East, and parts of northern Africa during the long period between 30,000 and 150,000 years ago.
Research:
At least one source contemporary(ish) to Bryson listed their existence between 130,000 years ago and 35,000-50,000 years ago, and also listed the locations Bryson mentioned.2 One of the sources cited by Bryson in his (very) selected bibliography discusses the range of Neanderthals:
Across Europe and Asia, Neanderthal people inhabited caves and rock-shelters […] In Africa more generalized forms of Homo sapiens seem to have existed alongside the northerly Neanderthals… (Gowlett, p. 98).
While I believe the author is referring to the “northerly” Neanderthals in Europe and Asia, I could see how Bryson could read this as referring to Neanderthals in Northern Africa. That being said, two pages later, a map of Neanderthal distribuition shows sites only in Europe and Asia.3 Gowlett gives a range of 150,000-35,000 years ago for the Neanderthal population.
A more recent map of Neanderthal discoveries places most discoveries in Europe and Eastern Asia; no discoveries in Northern Africa are listed. There are, however, some sites listed in the middle of the Asian continent.4 The oldest potential site for Neanderthals is 430,000 years old, but the evidence isn’t definitive.5
Verdict: Mostly true.
Claim:
Neanderthal man (or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) was very different from modern man. He was short, only about five feet tall, stocky, with a small forehead and heavyset features. Despite his distinctly dim-witted appearance…
Research:
That subspecies name is no longer used. In fairness to Bryson, the usage of Homo sapiens sapiens and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis was in vogue at the time of publication.6
Research at the time supported the assumption of the Neanderthal as short and stocky, though later studies note that the height seems to be similar to humans of the same era. It’s also possible to consider the Neanderthal as stocky, but that relies on the usage of BMI7 (which has its own set of problems8). Additionally, the sample size is extremely small, making it difficult to be completely certain in regards to population-level statistics.
Gowlitt does describe Neanderthals as having “robust” and “stocky” skeletons. More specifically, “The body proportions are similar to those of modern populations, such as [the Inuit], who endure cold—stocky and compact to minimize loss of body heat.”9It’s hard to ascertain exactly what Bryson means by heavyset features, but regardless, “dim-witted” appearance is not the best descriptive term.
Gowlitt listed a number of Neanderthal skull characteristics, describing “…heavy brow ridges, long low skulls, and large teeth” before adding that many other early remains had the same features.10
Verdict: Mostly true.
Claim:
…he possessed a larger brain than modern man (though not necessarily a more efficient one).
Research:
Gowlitt concludes, “The Neanderthal brain size, skelton and posture were in fact essentially modern.” While other research contemporary to Bryson suggested that Neanderthal braincases are larger on average,11 The brains themselves have differences in the sizes of various regions.12
Verdict: Mixed.
Claim:
Neanderthal man was unique. So far as can be told no one like him existed before or since. He wore clothes, shaped tools, engaged in communal activities.
Research:
Wikipedia notes:
Almost everything about Neanderthal behavior remains controversial.13
So, just keep that in mind as we go forward.
Neanderthals did have tools,14 communal activities,15 and clothing,16 but those features don’t make Neanderthals unique, since modern humans also do those things.
Verdict: Not meaningfully true.
Claim:
He buried his dead and marked the graves with stones, which suggests that he may have dealt in some form of religious ritual
Research:
Gowlitt did make the case for Neanderthal burials, so I’ll give this one to Bryson.17
Verdict: Mostly true.
Claim:
…he looked after infirm members of his tribe or family.
Research:
Probably, yes.18
Verdict: True.
Claim:
He also very probably engaged in small wars.
Research:
Although there is evidence of interpersonal violence,19 Neanderthal groups had limited inter-group interaction. War also suggests a larger scale campaign of violence, for which there is no evidence.20
Verdict: False.
Claim:
All of this would suggest the power of speech.
Research:
Language, unsurprisingly, is complicated. we’ll actually get into this in another couple of (book) paragraphs. If you’re eager to know more now, you can take a look at the 2018 paper, “Neanderthal language revisited: not only us.”21
Schmitz, Ralf W., et al. “The Neandertal Type Site Revisited: Interdisciplinary Investigations of Skeletal Remains from the Neander Valley, Germany.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 99, no. 20, 1 Oct. 2002, pp. 13342–13347, www.pnas.org/content/99/20/13342.short, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.192464099.
While this is a later source than TMT’s publication date, this is one of the most accessible accounts, with the relevant facts condensed and cited.
Klein, Richard G. “Anthropology: What Do We Know About Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon Man?” The American Scholar, vol. 52, no. 3, 1983, pp. 386–92. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41210959. Accessed 7 Feb. 2024.
Gowlett, John. Ascent to Civilization. Alfred A. Knopf, 1984, archive.org/details/ascenttociviliza0000gowl. Accessed 13 Feb. 2024.
“Neanderthal Map.” Wikipedia, 7 Nov. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Neanderthal_map#References. Accessed 13 Feb. 2024.
Meyer, Matthias, et al. “Nuclear DNA Sequences from the Middle Pleistocene Sima de Los Huesos Hominins.” Nature, vol. 531, no. 7595, Mar. 2016, pp. 504–507, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17405.
The whole history of subspecies of Homo sapiens is complicated. Much of this complexity was due to a desire to classify various races as separate subspecies.
“Human Taxonomy.” Wikipedia, 10 May 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_taxonomy#Homo_sapiens_subspecies.
Kitahara, Michio (1991). The tragedy of evolution: the human animal confronts modern society. p. xi.
Helmuth, H. “Body Height, Body Mass and Surface Area of the Neandertals.” Zeitschrift Für Morphologie Und Anthropologie, vol. 82, no. 1, 1998, pp. 1–12. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25757530. Accessed 7 Feb. 2024.
Maintenance Phase. “The Body Mass Index.” Maintenance Phase, 3 Aug. 2021, maintenancephase.buzzsprout.com/1411126/8963468-the-body-mass-index. Accessed 7 Feb. 2024.
Gowlitt, p. 105.
Gowlitt, p. 104.
Beals, Kenneth L., et al. “Brain Size, Cranial Morphology, Climate, and Time Machines [and Comments and Reply].” Current Anthropology, vol. 25, no. 3, June 1984, pp. 301–330, syslearn.oregonstate.edu/instruction/anth/smith/TimeMach1984.pdf, https://doi.org/10.1086/203138.
Coolidge, Frederick L., et al. “The Expert Neandertal Mind and Brain, Revisited.” The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Archaeology, edited by Thomas Wynn et al., Oxford Academic, 19 May 2019, academic.oup.com/edited-volume/41984/chapter-abstract/406551808. Accessed 13 Feb. 2024.
“Neanderthal Behavior.” Wikipedia, 22 June 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal_behavior.
Gowlitt, p. 112.
Hayden, Brian. “Neandertal Social Structure?” Oxford Journal of Archaeology, vol. 31, no. 1, 11 Jan. 2012, pp. 1–26, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0092.2011.00376.x.
Collard, Mark, et al. “Faunal Evidence for a Difference in Clothing Use between Neanderthals and Early Modern Humans in Europe.” Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, vol. 44, Dec. 2016, pp. 235–246, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2016.07.010.
Gowlitt, p. 106-107.
Spikins, Penny, et al. “Living to Fight Another Day: The Ecological and Evolutionary Significance of Neanderthal Healthcare.” Quaternary Science Reviews, vol. 217, Aug. 2019, pp. 98–118, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.08.011.
Zollikofer, C. P. E., et al. “Evidence for Interpersonal Violence in the St. Cesaire Neanderthal.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 99, no. 9, 23 Apr. 2002, pp. 6444–6448, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.082111899.
Hayden (2012).
Dediu, Dan, and Stephen C Levinson. “Neanderthal Language Revisited: Not Only Us.” Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, vol. 21, June 2018, pp. 49–55, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352154617301754, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.01.001.
Love it, as always.