Myth of Neandertals in Trauma

Nonetheless, Duo noted that their conclusions are based on small, probably non-representative samples. And 17 years later, Trinkaus doubled his thoughts, pointing out that similar findings were found among the Pleiades who lived with Neanderthals. The Rodeo Rider hypothesis, he said, is "simply not eligible for withdrawal." (Trinkaus refused to interview this story.)

However, the hypothesis and the broader concept of the highly injured Neanderthals persisted in public consciousness, just like the imaginary Neanderthals of mammoth spines. Some researchers have argued that the often damaged body does not allow Neanderthals to communicate effectively with each other. Others claimed that medical knowledge can withstand the scars.

However, in a new study by Tübingen University's Katerina Harvati and her colleagues, the Neanderthals reported that head injury was not that common, sapient. "This suggests that Neandertal trauma does not need its own explanation, and the risks and dangers were part of Neandertal's evolutionary past of ours," said Marta Mirazon Lahr, ). Companion editorial.

"that much [high frequency of] Head trauma has been used to claim that they were hunted in a more violent or more special way, "Harvati says." We have removed one piece of evidence. It is important to review our assumptions about their behavior. "

Rebecca Wragg Sykes, an archaeologist at the University of Bordeaux who studies the Neanderthal, concluded similarly with other studies. "Really [helps] To go back to the stubborn image of a Neanderthal man was to have a violently dead body, "she says." The image was partly sustained. "It seemed like a good reason. Us It was probably more successful. If there is clear data to prove this based on really good sample size, [adds to] "There is a growing prospect of many similarities in behavior between the two species."

This study adds to the continuing image variation of Neanderthals. The Neanderthals have long been described as cruel and naive. Now it is clear that we have created tools, used fire, created art, asked the dead, and even used language.

Harvati's colleague, Judith Beier, ransacked previous studies and compared 114 Neandertals to 90 modern humans. They all lived in Europe and Asia 20,000 to 80,000 years ago. (The term "modern human" sapientShe estimated that 4 ~ 33% of Neandertals will suffer some kind of head injury compared to 2 ~ 34% of modern humans.