The Neanderthals

Author(s): Erik Trinkaus and William W. Howells

Source: Scientific American , Vol. 241, No. 6 (December 1979), pp. 118-133
Published by: Scientific American, a division of Nature America, Inc.
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 The Neanderthals
They flourished from western Europe to central Asia between 75,000
and 35,000 years ago. The differences between them and later peoples

are not as great as was once thought but still call for an explanation

by Erik Trinkaus and William W. Howells

T
he Neanderthals were first recog­ Most of the Neanderthals' tools were In some early manifestations of the
nized in 1856, when workmen un­ flakes of flint, struck from a "core" Upper Paleolithic certain technical
covered fossil human bones in the and trimmed into the projectile points, ideas first seen in the Mousterian persist.
Neander Valley near DUsseldorf in Ger­ knives and scrapers that make up the In others, such as the Aurignacian, the
many. At the time and for· some time Mousterian (or Middle Paleolithic) tool break from the Middle Paleolithic is
thereafter the idea of early men, of men complex. This complex is not a uni­ more complete. The Upper Paleolithic
different from those now living, was so form assemblage of tools everywhere it also introduces art: cave paintings, en­
unfamiliar that the Neanderthals were is found but manifests itself in local var­ gravings on bone, statuettes of bone and
regarded either as a freakish variant of iations on a theme of similar manufac­ stone, and such personal decoration as
modern men or as beings that were not ture. Fran<;:ois Bordes of the University strings of beads. The Middle Paleolithic
quite human. They came to be classified of Bordeaux has distinguished five such is devoid of such expressions except pos­
not as members of our own species, "subcultures" in France alone, and oth­ sibly for a few rock carvings. The Nean­
Homo sapiens, but as a separate species, er variant assemblages, all loosely clas­ derthals did, however, bury their dead
Homo neanderthalensis. sified as Mousterian, stretch off to the and place grave offerings with them.
Today the Neanderthals cannot even east through central Europe and into Goat horns have been found in a boy's
be regarded as particularly early men. Asia. The Mousterian culture was a grave in central Asia and flowers (iden­
They arose long after other members long-lived one appropriate to this late tified from their pollen) in a burial at
of the genus Homo and longer still after period in the cultural evolution of the Shanidar Cave in Iraq.
the hominid genus Australopithecus. The Paleolithic. In spite of such distinctions it would
Neanderthals belong to a rather late It is important to note that whereas all be unwarranted to decide on the basis of
stage of the Pleistocene epoch. Indeed, Neanderthals made Mousterian tools, the Neanderthals' tools that their way of
their lateness is the main reason so much not all Mousterian toolmakers were Ne­ life differed radically from that of hunt­
is known about them. anderthals. The Mousterian tool com­ ing peoples living into our own times.
In recent years this knowledge has plex is a general level of achievement in If the Neanderthals' stone implements
been simultaneously extended and re­ the making of stone tools rather than an were limited to flakes technically inferi­
fined. To look broadly at the new pic­ expression of a specifically Neanderthal or to those of the Upper Paleolithic, the
ture, the Neanderthals appear on the intellect and skill. same is true of tools made over a period
scene as competent hunters of large and of perhaps 30,000 years by members of
small game, taking their prey in ways rom about 40,000 years ago in east­ one modern population: the Australian
that might seem primitive to us but F ern Europe and about 35,000 in aborigines. Again, whereas the Eskimos
would nonetheless be familiar. They western Europe the Mousterian tool as­ have had tools of great refinement and
were able to deal with the rigors of a semblages were succeeded by those of variety, comparable in their develop­
cold climate during the last phase of the somewhat more varied cultures that be­ ment to those of the Upper Paleolith­
Pleistocene. They flourished from west­ long to what is designated the Upper ic, the first people to occupy the New
ern Europe to central Asia. They must Paleolithic. When these later tools are World certainly did not. It therefore
have used animal skins for clothing and found with human fossils, the bones are seems safest to speculate that the Ne­
shelter, because there is clear evidence those not of Neanderthals but of ana­ anderthals were formed into hunting
that earlier people had used them. tomically modern human beings. The bands similar to those of recent hunting
They took shelter in caves, where basic innovation in the tools is that the peoples, probably linked loosely into
most of their bones have been found. flakes struck from the core were long, tribal groupings, or at least groups with
The reason few Neanderthal bones are narrow blades. This made it easy to vary a common language. To judge by the
uncovered elsewhere, however, is that the final form of the tools and thus to wide distribution and homogeneity of
caves preserve bones as open-air sites have a larger assortment of tools. The Neanderthal remains, the Neanderthals
rarely do. Neanderthals lived in the innovation was also more economical of formed a distinct and major human
open as well, as is indicated by open-air flint, often a scarce raw material. population that was not a particularly
sites with masses of the kind of stone
tools that are associated elsewhere with
Neanderthal bones. Moreover, hearths
FRONT AND SIDE VIEWS of the skull of an adult male Neauderthal appear iu the photo­
and rings of mammoth bones at certain
graphs ou the opposite page. The skull is Shanidar 1, which was discovered at the Iraq cave site
sites point to their occupants' living in of the same name in 1957 by Ralph S. Solecki of Columbia University and his colleagues. The
skin tents. Indeed, it is probable that left side of the individual's head had suffered an injury of the eye socket and the bone around
Neanderthals lived more in the open it that had healed before his death. Specimen is in the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. Photographs
than they did in caves. were made through the courtesy of Muayed Sa'id al.Damirji, Director General of Antiquities.

118

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sparse one. Finally, whereas the organi­ Neanderthals and modern men tended classified as Eastern Neanderthals. The
zation of human populations in the to make the Neanderthals seem apelike. classification was based on their com­
Middle Paleolithic is necessarily a sub­ Boule was further misled, both by ima­ mon possession of large, bony brow
ject of speculation, the evidence of the tomical views then current and by his ridges and a low-vaulted brain case. In
fossil remains is concrete. Here the own evolutionary preconceptions, into addition two important human popula­
question becomes not what is meant by seeing the Neanderthals as being some­ tions, relatively recent but still making
"Mousterian" but what is meant by what stooped and having knees slightly Mousterian tools, were interpreted as
"Neanderthal." bent and feet rolled in such a way that being in transition between the Nean­
the outer edge of the foot, rather than derthals and modern men. These pop­
Although the Neanderthals were first the sole, formed the walking surface. ulations were represented by skeletal
.£\.recognized well over 100 years ago, Other experts either did not disagree samples from the caves at Mugharet es­
the evolutionary significance of the orig­ or enthusiastically agreed, and Boule's Skhiil and Jebel Qafzeh in Israel.
inal Neanderthal discovery and of other view of the Neanderthals as an aberrant In this picture the populations of the
human remains uncovered at Paleolith­ branch of humanity prevailed. He gave earliest anatomically modern men arose
ic sites was not apparent until the turn of his stamp of approval to their classifica­ separately from such immediate pred­
the 20th century. At that time a number tion as a species distinct from and not ecessors in various parts of the Old
of sites in Europe yielded new Neander­ ancestral to Homo sapiens. World and in association with cultural
thal fossils, most of them partial skele­ Some two decades later there was a advances such as those of the Upper Pa­
tons. Among them were the remains of a reaction against this view as many other leolithic of Europe. All these predeces­
man aged between 40 and 50 uncovered human fossils were discovered, notably sors were taken to be "Neanderthals" of
in a cave near the village of La Cha­ in Java and China. Most of these fossil one kind or another, and in contrast to
pelle-aux-Saints in France. With this forms were earlier and more primitive Boule's view most if not all of them were
skeleton as a point of departure Marcel­ than the Neanderthals. Some anthropol­ accepted as being the ancestors of vari­
lin Boule, the leading French anthro­ ogists now inserted the Neanderthals ous living peoples.
pologist of his day, published in 19 13 a not between men and apes but between
monograph that reviewed all known Ne­ modern man and such probable ances­ oday a more noncommital attitude
anderthal remains. Boule's monograph tors as the Indonesian and Chinese fos­ T is conveyed by the practice of classi­
included what soon became the stan­ sils now classified as Homo erectus. The fying the Neanderthals as a subspecies
dard description and interpretation of Neanderthals were thus viewed as a within our own species. Thus they are
the Neanderthals. stage of human evolution, well up on the commonly referred to as Homo sapiens
At the time no older human fossils scale of time and development: a "Ne­ neanderthalensis, and all living human
were known except those of "Java anderthal phase." By extension some beings are referred to as Homo sapiens
man," or "Pithecanthropus," which earlier fossils were considered to be rep­ sapiens. Such taxonomic distinctions,
Boule did not regard as being human. resentative of the same phase in other however, are merely an aid to grouping
He therefore inserted the Neanderthals areas. For example, the Broken Hill related individuals. They are not partic­
taxonomically somewhere between skull from Zambia ("Rhodesian man") ularly useful as a guide in exploring the
chimpanzees and modern men. In this was classified as an African Neander­ actual relations between the Neander­
framework the differences between the thal and the Solo skulls from Java were thals and modern men. To arrive at an

-----
----

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,
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I
•
I
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SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION of sites where Neanderthal fossils have the map early sites appear as colored squares and later sites as black
been found is plotted on this map. The westernmost site is in Portu­ dots. The 19 early sites have yielded the partial remains of some 75 in­
gal and the easternmost is in Uzbekistan in Soviet Central Asia. The dividuals and the 52 later sites the remains of at least 200 more, rang­
greatest concentration of Neanderthal remains is in the western Mas­ ing from a few isolated teeth to complete skeletons. Two open trian­
sif Central of France (colored area), where at least 10 early Neander­ gles in the Levant locate Mugharet es-Skhill and Jebel Qafzeh; some
thal sites and 25 later Neanderthal ones are situated. Elsewhere on of the 30 fossils there were formerly classified as being Neanderthal.

122

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understanding of what the term Nean­ EUROPEAN NEAR EASTERN
derthal means one should ignore past HOMINID FOSSILS HOMINID FOSSILS
controversies and take account of ev­ 10
erything that is known today. For ex­
ample, one can systematically examine
the large corpus of Neanderthal fossils
in the light of present knowledge of the
anatomical functions of bone and mus­ ()
I
cle. Furthermore, the fossils can be ex­ I-
:J
amined against a fuller chronological 0
UJ
background based on carbon-14 dating -'
and on recent archaeological work. 20 rt
a:
When this is done, the picture that UJ
0..
emerges is quite clear. It reveals a hu­ 0..
::> PREDMOSTI
man population complex with a special
pattern of anatomical features that ex­
UJ
z BRNO
tends without interruption from Gibral­ 30 UJ
() V ELIKA PECINA
tar across Europe into the Near East 0
l-
and central Asia. That population com­ (/)
Ui t--- LA QUINA
plex occupies a span of time from about -'
40 0.. SKHOL QAFZEH
100,000 years ago (or at least before the a: LA FERRASSIE LACHAPELLE
UJ ()
beginning of the last Pleistocene glacia­ 0.. I
0.. I-
tion) down to 40,000 or 35,000 years ::>
:J
?
z 50
I-
0

JNA
ago (depending on the locality). Within UJ NEANDERTHAL
oo UJ
that space and time only remains recog­ -' SHANIDAR
UJ
nizable as belonging to this population a: 60 rt
0.. UJ TABON
complex have been found. UJ -'
a: 70 a
a

1
The Neanderthal anatomical pattern, 0
u..
UJ �
or combination of skeletal features, can
CD 80 -
now be distinguished from that of mod­ oo SACCOPASTORE
a: 90 - -
ern human populations and from the <
UJ ?
patterns of the European Upper Paleo­ >- 100 -
BIACHE LA CHAISE
lithic and the Near Eastern late Mouste­ u..
0
rian. The Neanderthals can also be con­ oo
a
sistently differentiated from the human z
< r-- FONTECHEVADE
beings who lived at the same time in oo
::>
Africa and eastern Asia. Although some 0
of the pattern's individual features
:c
I-
grade into those of neighboring popula­
tions, its important aspects appear to
be distinctively Neanderthal. Moreover, 200 g
the Neanderthal population is at least as UJ :c
I-
homogeneous as the human populations z :J
UJ 0
of today. The people of this anatomical () UJ
pattern have often been called "classic f2
oo
-'
rt STEINHEIM
Neanderthals." In our own view they 300 - Ui
-' a:
UJ
are the only Neanderthals. To apply the 0..
3:
SWANSCOMBE
UJ 0
?
term to specimens of any other time and -'
l'
-' ARAGO
a
place is only to invite confusion. a PETRALONA
MONTMAURIN
The anatomical pattern must be care­ 400 �
fully defined. To begin with, the Nean­
't
?
derthal skull and skeleton exhibit a spe­ MAUER
cific overall pattern. Compared with its 500
modern counterpart the long Neander­
thal skull is relatively low but not excep­ 600
tionally so. The low cranium and the
prominent brow ridges give an appear­ 700 --
ance resembling that of Homo erectus.
and they are probably derived from 800
such ancestry. Here, then, is the basis for
the belief in a "Neanderthal stage" be­
tween Homo erectus and modern man. TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION of the Neanderthals is shown on this chart, which extends
The brain encased in the Neanderthal from 10,000 years ago to 800,000. The time scale is logarithmic, which expands the space avail­
skull, however, was on the average able for the Middle and Upper Paleolithic and the Upper Pleistocene. The last glacial phase
slightly larger than the brain of modern of the Upper Pleistocene lasted from 80,000 years ago to 10,000 and was interrupted by a
men. This anatomical feature is un­ warm interval 35,000 years ago. Although many Neanderthal sites in Europe are not precisely
dated, most are between 75,000 and 35,000 years old (colored band). The oldest of the fossils
doubtedly related to the fact that the
from Krapina are slightly older than other European Neanderthals, but most are contempora­
musculature of the Neanderthals was
neous. These Neanderthal site names appear in color, as do others more than 80,000 years old
more substantial than that of modern containing fossils that can be classified as early Neanderthals: Saccopastore, Biache and La
men; it does not suggest any difference Chaise. Still earlier European fossils, from Fontechevade to Mauer, show varying degrees of
in intellectual or behavioral capacities. affinity with both the Neanderthals and Homo erectus. The Upper Paleolithic sites of Veli­
The Neanderthal face is unique. A ka PeCina, Brno, Pfedmosti, SkbOl and Qafzeh all contain human fossils of tbe modern type.

125
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prominence down the midline brings the the face that in a profile view there is a the teeth in the Neanderthal skull re­
nose and the teeth farther forward (with gap between the last molar (the wisdom mains unexplained. The cheek teeth
respect to the vault of the skull) than tooth) and the edge of the ascending were not significantly larger than those
they are in any other human fossil, ei­ branch of the mandible, or lower jaw­ of modern men. The front teeth were
ther older or younger. The cheek arches bone. This is something seldom seen ex­ somewhat bulkier than is common to­
slope backward instead of being angled, cept in Neanderthals. A distinct bony day, with the result that the arch at the
as they are in modern "high cheek­ chin, supposedly a hallmark of modern front of the jaws is broader and open­
bones." The forehead slopes instead men, is variably developed among Ne­ er. C. Loring Brace of the University
of rising abruptly as it does over the anderthals. Its prominence may have of Michigan has suggested that the
tucked-in face of modern men. The Ne­ been largely obscured by the forward front teeth were regularly employed for
anderthal midfacial prominence may be position of the lower teeth with respect something more than routine biting: for
related to the teeth. The dentition is po­ to the mandible below them. holding objects or perhaps for proc­
sitioned so far forward with respect to The spectacular forward position of essing skins. Indeed, the crowns of the

FOUR FOSSIL SKULLS are shown in profile, all slightly restored. skulls the Neanderthal skulls are long, low and massive and their
The top two, anatomically modern, are PfedJl.losti 3 from Czechoslo­ faces project, particularly around the nose and teeth. The anatomical­
vakia and Qafzeh 9 from Israel. The bottom two, both Neanderthals, ly modern skulls have a higher and rounder brain case, and their nose
are La Ferrassie 1 from France and Shanidar 1 from Iraq. (A profile and teeth are more in line with their eye sockets. All should be com­
photograph of the latter is on page 119.) Compared with the modern pared with the Neanderthal precursor illustrated on opposite page.

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front teeth of elderly Neanderthals are
worn down in an unusual rounded way.
Brace's hypothesis is that with the ap­
pearance of better tools in the Upper
Paleolithic such uses of the front teeth
became obsolete, and so the front teeth
and jaws became smaller. It would
seem, however, that the Mousterian
tools were not so inferior as to account
for the difference. Furthermore, some
MOllsterian toolmakers, the Skhiil peo­
ple, already had front teeth that were
like those of Upper Paleolithic popula­
tions in size and form.
The Neanderthal face as a whole is
large, although it is not as large as the
face in earlier members of the genus
Homo. The front part of the upper jaw
was generously proportioned; it accom­
modated the relatively long roots of the PETRALONA SKULL, from Greece, is undated but may be 400,000 years old. It shows a
front teeth, particularly the canines. The number of features reminiscent of Homo erectus: a low, wide brain case, a large, heavily built
face and a large area at back of the skull for attachment of strong neck muscles. Although it
nasal cavity and the rounded eye sock­
has no specific Neanderthal character, it represents Neanderthal ancestral stock in Europe.
ets are capacious. The sinus cavities are
also large. For example, the frontal
sinuses fill the brow ridges from above movements of the animal. AlSO-pound forearm. The skeletal robustness evi­
the nose out to the middle of the eye sock­ man standing still needs to support only dently reflects the Neanderthals' great
ets with multichambered "cauliflower" that much weight with his legs, but if he muscular power. Everything indicates
cavities. They do not, however, reach up starts to run, the forces generated by that for their height both Neanderthal
into the frontal bone above the brows, as muscle contraction and momentum are men and Neanderthal women were bulk­
is the case in earlier members of the ge­ greatly increased and amount to several ily built and heavily muscled. Further­
nus Homo. In modern skulls the frontal times the weight of his body. The bones more, signs of this massiveness appeared
sinuses are flattened, often extend above of the skeleton must sustain these great early in their childhood.
the brows and are quite irregular in size stresses structurally, and the tendons
and shape. must be attached to the bones strong­ any skeletal parts testify to this
In order to explain the Neanderthals' ly enough to produce the desired mo­ M conclusion. For example, the ta­
large, projecting face scholars have in­ tion (or resistance to motion) effectively lus, or anklebone, differs slightly in
voked a variety of causes, most often and efficiently. The tendon attachments shape from the modern human talus.
adaptation to cold. Carleton S. Coon leave characteristic marks on the bones This difference was once taken to be a
and others have suggested that the that are clues to the power and action sign of primitiveness. It consists, how­
Neanderthal midfacial prominence was of the muscles. Equally significant, liv­ ever, only in just such an expansion of
such an adaptation. The nasal cavities ing bone under habitual stresses will re­ the joint surfaces at the ankle as would
were placed well away from the temper­ shape itself, within limits, to accommo­ resist greater stress under load. The
ature-sensitive brain, and at the same date the stresses more efficiently. bones of the foot arches and the toes
time the enlarged size of the cavities There are many differences between show stronger tendon attachments for
may have provided additional space for the skeletons of Neanderthals and those the muscles that support the arches and
warming inhaled air. The same Nean­ of modern men. Some of the differences propel the body in walking and running.
derthal facial shape, however, is found were formerly interpreted (as, for exam­ The finger bones show similar attach­
in Europe before the last onset of sub­ ple, they were by Boule) as evidence of ments for the tendons of the powerful
arctic glacial cold and also in the Near Neanderthal primitiveness. They were muscles that flexed the fingers. They
East, where subarctic conditions never easily misinterpreted, and it was not also show an enlargement of the tuber­
arrived. The !lnique Neanderthal facial possible to judge which might be more osities that supported the pads at the fin­
configuration is more probably the re­ significant and which less so. Today, gertips. Both features indicate a much
sult of a combination of factors: a highly systematically examined in the light of stronger grip than that of modern men,
complex interaction of forces from the functional anatomy, the skeletal differ­ but there was nothing gorillalike in it;
chewing apparatus, a response to cli­ ences present a coherent and satisfying the control of movement was evidently
matic conditions and a variety of other picture. the same as ours.
factors as yet undetermined. Sorting out To summarize, Boule and others were This kind of refined control, coupled
these factors is one of the principal goals mistaken: Neanderthals were not less with great power, also appears in a curi­
of current research on the Neanderthals. human than modern men, nor were their ous feature of the scapula, or shoulder
Meanwhile no coherent adaptive expla­ heads hung forward, their knees bent blade. The feature has long been recog­
nation for the total Neanderthal cranial and their feet rolled over. A touch of nized but not explained. In modern indi­
pattern has bee'n offered. arthritis in the neck bones of the La Cha­ viduals the ollter edge of the scapula
pelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal helped to usually has a shallow groove on the
or the rest of the skeleton the situ­ lead Boule astray, but what misled him front, or rib, surface. In Neanderthals
F ation is different. The postcranial most was faulty anatomical interpreta­ a deeper groove characteristically ap­
skeleton, after all, is the structure that tion. It is now clear that the Neander­ pears on the back surface. This feature
enables a large animal to maintain an thals had the same postural abilities, seems to reflect the strong development
erect posture, and Homo is a large ani­ manual dexterity and range and charac­ in Neanderthals of the teres minor mus­
mal. It is also the structure that allows ter of movement that modern men do. cle that runs from the scapula to the
the muscles to place enormous stresses They nonetheless differed from modern upper end of the humerus, or upper-arm
on the bones while driving the body men in having massive limb bones, of­ bone. Part of the action of the muscle
through the complex characteristic ten somewhat bowed in the thigh and is to roll the arm (with the hand) out-

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ward. This action would have balanced ty seems to be a significant Neanderthal many. Neither jaw shows any sign of
and counteracted the major muscles anatomical marker. The pubic bones a forward extension of the face such as
that pull the arm down. In throwing from Skhul and Qafzeh are modern in the Neanderthal postmolar gap. A facial
or pounding motions, for example, all form, as are those of the earliest Upper skeleton and two mandibles from Ara­
these muscles roll the arm inward. In Paleolithic fossils from Europe. How go, a site in the French Pyrenees, are
balancing this tendency the teres minor the feature originated remains an un­ some 300,000 years old. Like the Swans­
muscle would have made possible a fin­ answered question, because the pubic combe and Steinheim skulls, the Arago
er control of the arm and the hand in bones of earlier members of the genus fossils show some suggestions of Nean­
throwing a spear or retouching a flint Homo have not been preserved. derthal form, but the projection of the
tool, without any loss in the great mus­ face and the tooth row is not as strongly
cular strength of the limb. t now seems likely that the Neander­ developed.
Other Neanderthal body parts repeat I thals' antecedents can be traced in From the last interglacial period,
the theme. For example, quantitative at least one section of the Neanderthal which began about 130,000 years ago,
analysis of the shape and cross-sectional range, namely western Europe. Early come several fossils that show clear
area of the upper and lower bones of the human fossils from Europe are still few signs of the Neanderthal pattern. They
leg shows that the difference between and fragmentary, but their number has include the rear half of a skull, recently
Neanderthal and modern human bones increased greatly in recent years. More­ found at Biache in northeastern France,
can also be explained in terms of resist­ over, certain important specimens were that has the lowness of the vault and the
ance to the higher stresses of weight and formerly held to be more "progressive," protruding rear characteristic of the Ne­
activity in Neanderthals. or more modern in appearance, than anderthals. A mandible from another
One difference still calls for explana­ Neanderthal specimens. These speci­ French site, the cave of Bourgeois-De­
tion. In Neanderthals the pubic bone, at mens now appear, on reexaminations launay near La Chaise, shows the typi­
the front of the pelvis, has a curiously that include multivariate statistical com­ cal Neanderthal position of the teeth.
extended and lightened upper branch parisons, to ally themselves more close­ Two other skulls, from Saccopastore in
that forms a part of the rim of the pelvis. ly with the Neanderthals than with any Italy, clearly approach the typical Nean­
This is true of every Neanderthal speci­ other known human type. The speci­ derthal pattern. Toward the end of the
men, male or female, from Europe and mens include the well-known Swans­ last interglacial the Neanderthal phy­
the Near East, in which the fragile bone combe skull from England, the Fonte­ sique is seen in its complete develop­
is preserved. Possibly the feature is an chevade skull from France and the ment among the Krapina people. Found
adaptation for increasing the size of the Steinheim skull from Germany. in a rock-shelter at Krapina in Yugosla­
birth canal in females. That would have In summarizing the evidence for the via, these fossil remains are believed to
allowed easier passage of an infant's origins of the Neanderthals one can have accumulated over a considerable
head (which was presumably large) at begin with the Petralona skull from span of time both before and after the
birth. The presence of the same fea­ Greece. It is of uncertain age but is prob­ onset of the last glaciation. All the typi­
ture in males as well as females might ably as much as 400,000 years old. It cal Neanderthal traits are visible: the
be explained in terms of close genetic shows no specifically Neanderthal char­ shape of the skull, the projection of the
bonding between the two sexes. In any acter, looking more like an advanced face, t)'le form of the limbs and the pecu­
event it is not a trait that lends itself to Homo erectus. Next in line are the early liarities of the shoulder blade and the
explanation in terms of patterns of mus­ jaws from Montmaurin in France and pubic bone.
cle action and movement. The peculiari- from Mauer (near Heidelberg) in Ger- Why this physical pattern evolved can
only be guessed at. The activity of the
Neanderthals' massive muscles would
have supplied their chunky body with
more heat in a chill climate, but the pat­
tern existed before the cold of the last
glacial period began in Europe, and it
was also present in the more temperate
Near East. The robust physique was un­
doubtedly inherited from populations
of Homo erectus. Those early men had
a massive skull, and the few H. erectus
limb bones that have been discovered
are also massive. Such a heritage does
not, however, explain the details of the
Neanderthal pattern, particulariy the
skull pattern.
Whatever the origins of the Neander­
thal physique, the fact that it was suc­
cessful as an evolutionary adaptation is
evident from its long stability. From the
time of its full establishment perhaps
100,000 years ago down to 40,000 or
35,000 years ago this physical pattern
continued without any evidence of evo­
lutionary change. One possible excep­
tion is tooth dimensions. The teeth of
"BRUTISH" NEANDERTHAL, the "Old Man" from La Chapelle-aux-Saints in France, was
the Krapina people are larger than those
discovered in 1908. The base of the skull was altered by arthritis and damaged after burial; this
of more recent Neanderthals, which
led to incorrect conclusions about the head posture of Neanderthals in general. Most of the
suggests that over a period of time there
teeth had been lost before death, so that the lower jaw acquired an abnormal rounded contour.
This specimen is one of the longest Neanderthal skulls known and has one of the most project­
was a reduction in Neanderthal tooth
ing faces. Because the "Old Man" was for a long time the most complete and best-described size. In their details, however, the Krapi­
Neanderthal specimen it became the stereotype of subspecies Homo sapiens neander/hotel/sis. na teeth are typically Neanderthal, and

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PROJECTING FACE of a Neandertbal (left) is annotated by tbe tri­ point B and tbe Frankfurt plane superposed on a silbouette of tbe
angle connecting A, Band C. Tbe forward edge of tbe first molar tootb Neandertbal skull, bas a tucked-in appearance; point A lies above
(C) is well abead of tbe lower edge of tbe cbeekbone (A) and almost tbe first molar tootb, and all tbree points in tbe triangle are nearly in
directly below tbe upper end of tbe cbeekbone (B). Tbe borizontal tbe same vertical plane. Tbe Neanderthal specimen used for this com­
line passing above tbe triangle defines tbe Frankfurt plane, a standard parison is an idealized restoration of tbe "Old Man" of La Chapclle­
orientation. Tbe face of an anatomically modern skull (right), witb aux-Saints. This specimen is sbown unrestored on the opposite page.

the evidence of a trend toward a reduc­ ments, in particular those of Christo­ We shall therefore assume for the mo­
tion of tooth size elsewhere among the pher Stringer of the British Museum ment, but with no great confidence, that
Neanderthals is equivocal. It is possible (Natural History), make the separation in the Near East anatomically modern
that the Krapina people merely repre­ between the cranial pattern of Nean­ men replaced the Neanderthals between
sent an extreme of tooth size, as the Aus­ derthals and that of early anatomical­ 45,000 and 40,000 years ago.
tralian aborigines do among modern ly modern human beings quite clear. In Europe the dating is a little clearer.
populations. Moreover, both populations have skulls Carbon- 14 dates for sites that hold late
that are distinct from those of other fos­ Mousterian artifacts (taken as evidence
After a stability lasting for perhaps sil hominids. Other skeletal details, in­ of Neanderthal occupation) come as
.f\. 60,000 years the Neanderthal phys­ cluding the features of the scapula and close to the present as about 38,000
ical pattern was rapidly replaced by one the pubic bone mentioned above, forti­ years ago. A date of 35,250 years ago
similar to that of modern men. The first fy the distinction between the Neander­ has been determined for the final Mous­
anatomically modern groups showed thals and their successors. terian layer in the rock-shelter of La
little difference from the Neanderthals A transition from Neanderthals to Quina in France. A frontal bone of mod­
in size. For example, the change in the their immediate successors undoubtedly ern form, found at Velika Pecina in Yu­
teeth came not in average size but in took place, but there is little evidence goslavia, has been dated to about 34,000
details of form. The modern reduction for the actual course of events. The years ago. Meanwhile a series of car­
in tooth size began later and has contin­ problem is dating. The period of time bon- 14 dates obtained at sites across Eu­
ued down to the present day. In general falls near the limit of accuracy of car­ rope pluce the beginnings of the culture
the anatomically modern people of the bon- 14 dating, and in any case samples level known as the Aurignacian (infer­
Near Eastern late Middle Paleolithic suitable for carbon- 14 analysis have entially associated with people of mod­
(Skhiil and Qafzeh) and the European been meager. The problem is particu­ ern physique) at about 33,000 years ago
early Upper Paleolithic had large bones larly difficult in the Near East, and it is or slightly earlier. Hence in Europe the
and robust skulls. Fugitive signs of Ne­ only beginning to be solved by the work interval between Neanderthals and ana­
anderthal features appear in some of of Arthur J. Jelinek of the University tomically modern populations appears
the Skhiil craniums, but they are rarely of Arizona and others. From what is to have been extremely short.
found in the Qafzeh group or in Upper known the most recent Neanderthals at What is important here is to contrast
Paleolithic specimens. The Neanderthal Tabiin Cave in Israel and Shanidar in the departure of the Neanderthals with
complex of traits is simply not there; Iraq are at least 45,000 years old, but their arrival. The pace is totally differ­
these were ordinary robust representa­ they may be considerably older. On the ent. From what is known about the ar­
tives of modern humanity, like the Poly­ basis of archaeological comparisons the rival it can be seen as a gradual evolu­
nesians and northern Europeans of undated Skhiil skeletons are later, being tion. The departure can only be called
today. Indeed, the Upper Paleolithic probably no more than 40,000 years old abrupt; it probably took a tenth as much
skulls are specifically like those of later and possibly younger. The Qafzeh re­ time as the arrival. Can the two transi­
Europeans, or Caucasoids. mains are undated at the moment, but it tions be assessed in the same terms? To
These are not subjective judgments: seems reasonable to suppose they are answer the question one must accept
recent studies based on refined measure- about the same age as the Skhiil ones. some guidelines from current knowl-

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edge of evolutionary processes. These many in the U . S . , is a restatement of the Skhiil pop ulation and in certain Up­
processes have been notably neglected old "Neanderthal phase" hypothesis. In per Paleolithic specimens such as those
in the two prevailing explanations of this view the Neanderthals evolved di­ from Brno and Pi'edmosti in Czechoslo­
the Neanderthals' disappearance. rectly and on the spot into the anatomi­ vakia. One of those specimens has not
One of the two explanations, favored cally modern people of the Upper Pale­ only heavy brow ridges but also a lower
today by anthropologists in the U . S . S . R . olithic. Its adherents see Neanderthal or j aw w ith the characteristic gap between
a n d elsewhere i n eastern Europe a n d b y "transitional" anatomical traits in the the wisdom tooth and the jaw's ascend-

MODERN FEMALE

MODERN FEMALE
N EA N D E RTHAL MALE

�\
PUBIC BONES of a Neanderthal male and an anatomicaIly modern
male and female are compared. The pubic bone is the portion of the
ern male (black).
NEANDERTHAL MALE
MODERN MALE

The pubic bone of a Neanderthal male, Shanidar

is silhouetted in color
1,
(cellter right). It is even wider and slenderer
pelvis (left) that extends from the hip socket to the front midline; here than that of a modern female (black). Finally (bottom right) the slen.
the right pubic bone is seen from the front in all instances. First (top derness of the Neanderthal pubic bone is even more evident when
right) the pubic bone of a modern female is silhouetted in color. It is it is compared with that of a modern male (silhouette ill color). All
wIder and less massive than the pubic bone of an anatomically mod. Neanderthal pubic bones, male and female, show this characteristic.

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ing branch. These features do not, how­
ever, make up the full Neanderthal pat­
tern. Both are found in some prehis­
toric skulls from Australia. Moreover,
the brow ridges are not Neanderthal
in form; they probably represent an ex­
treme among the generally rugged
skulls of Upper Paleolithic people in
Europe. Finally, when the measure­
ments of the overall skull shape and of
several limb-bone features are subjected
to statistical analysis, they indicate that
the specimens lack any particularly
close Neanderthal affinity. In general,
then, fossil specimens from the early
Upper Paleolithic, although they are ro­
bust and rugged, show no convincing
sign of a total morphology that is transi­
tional between Neanderthals and mod­
ern men. Nor do late Neanderthal fos­
sils show signs of having begun an evo­
lutionary trend in a modern direction.
The second interpretation ascribes the
disappearance of the Neanderthals not
to local evolution but to invasion by new
peoples of modern form. If there were a
cave containing the remains of killed
Neanderthals in association with Upper
Paleolithic tools, one might entertain
the hypothesis of replacement. The hy­
pothesis might also be supported if there
were evidence of a homeland for the
alleged invaders or for their migration
route. Current archaeological and pa­
leontological information, however, is
far too fragmentary to support the
hypothesis. One can only point out
that human populations of modern, al­ SHOULDER BLADES of a Neanderthal and an anatomically modern man are compared.
though not European, anatomical form These are left scapulas seen from the side. The modern scapula, at the left, shows a single groove

certainly occupied the distant continent on the ventral, or rih, side of the outer edge (color). This ventral-groove pattern is present
in four out of five modern men; it is related to the development of a shoulder muscle, the teres
of Australia 32,000 years ago and prob­
minor, which in anatomically modern men connects the upper arm to the scapula by attach­
ably 8,000 years earlier than that. Signs
ing to a small portion of the dorsal scapular surface (see illustratioll below). The Neanderthal
of even older modern men are found in scapula, at the right, has a single large groove on the dorsal, or back, side of the outer border
sub-Saharan Africa. Hence if anatomi­ (color). This dorsal-groove pattern appears in more than 60 percent of Neanderthal scapulas;
cally modern men sprang from a single the scapula illustrated is that of Shanidar 1. All of outer edge of the bone and part of the dorsal
original main population, a point that surface provided attachment for the teres minor mnscle, indicating that it was well developed.
many dispute, then it was not a popu­
lation of Neanderthals, since anatomi­
cally modern men were in existence
elsewhere when the Neanderthals still
inhabited Europe.

Any attempt to choose between these

I\.. two interpretations is sterile unless
evolutionary principles are taken into
account. In evolutionary terms a signifi­
cant change in a physical pattern, such
as the one separating the Neanderthals
from their Upper Paleolithic successors,
normally comes in two steps. First the
change arises as a consequence of new
selective forces acting on the individu­
\

\
als of a particular population. Then the
change somehow becomes established
as the norm in all populations of the
species. Since the skeletal differences
among all living human populations are
less than the differences between the liv­
LINE OF ACTION of the teres minor muscle (color) is indicated in this dorsal view of the right
ing populations and the Neanderthals,
scapula and part of the right upper arm bone, or humerus. When the muscle contracts, it pulls
there is little doubt that the new pat­ the humerus in toward the scapula, thereby strengthening the shoulder joint; at the same time it
tern has become established throughout turns the upper arm, forearm and hand outward. All the major muscles of the shoulder that pull
Homo sapiens today. the arm downward, as in throwing or striking a blow, tend to turn the arm and hand inward. By
More specifically, a widely distrib- countering this rotation the teres minor muscle gave Neanderthals more precise arm control.

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uted species that interbreeds freely is tern of the species as a whole. The adap­ disappeared. The two interpretations
likely to be relatively static in the evolu­ tive pattern may be propagated by the also imply different degrees of complex­
tionary sense. It changes q uite slowly flow of genes to other populations or by ity in the genetic basis of the observed
because the lack of barriers to gene the simple replacement of part or all of anatomical differences. If, on the one
exchange between populations enco ur­ the old populations, with the new popu­ hand, the Neanderthals evolved locally
ages a species-wide genetic homogenei­ lation expanding and successfully com­ into early Upper Paleolithic people, one
ty. Moreover, if the species has a com­ peting for existing resources. How is Ne ­ would expect that relatively few simply
mon adaptation, and human culture can anderthal history to be seen in the light coded genetic traits were responsible for
be so viewed, then selection will be sim­ of such processes? the anatomical differences in order for
ilar for most of its features, which fur­ them to appear and spread across the
ther promotes its general uniformity. e have outlined two eventualities: Near East and Europe in a few thousand
If, on the other hand, the species is W either evolution throughout an en­ years. The rate of such evol ution within
more fragmented, perhaps by various tire species (or a large population) be­ local populations might have been ac­
degrees of geographical isolation, an cause of a common selective pressure or celerated by the influence of behavior­
increase in diversity is more likely. In a faster evolution in one element of the al adaptations on certain aspects of
small, isolated populations the substitu­ population toward a specific adaptation, growth, such as the robustness of limb
tion of genes under the pressure of natu­ after which that element of the popula­ bones; this characteristic is known to be
ral selection will be faster. Only by some tion replaces other elements because of sensitive, within limits, to patterns of in­
advantage in adaptation, for example a its adaptive advantage. The two eventu­ dividual activity. If, on the other hand,
better adaptation to a new ecological sit­ alities correspond generally to the two there was significant migration of non­
uation or a better exploitation of the old customary interpretations of why after Neanderthal peoples, together with in­
one, can a new pattern in one population a certain time men of the modern type terbreeding and replacement, then a far
of a species become the dominant pat- came to the fore and the Neanderthals more complex set of circumstances of
genetic substitution and change might
4 r-------� be involved.
The fossils themselves furnish some
hint of the complexity of the genetic
basis for the anatomical differences.
First, the Neanderthal pattern seems to
have coalesced slowly during the late
Middle Pleistocene and the early Upper
Pleistocene. This suggests that the kind
3- of complex genetic basis that could
build up over many millenniums may
well have been responsible for the Ne­
anderthal pattern. Second, the fossil
remains of Neanderthal children show
that the characteristic Neanderthal mor­
phology had developed by the age of

-
five, and perhaps earlier. Since it is diffi­
� 2
w
c ult to see how activity co uld seriously
affect the developmental pattern of an
infant, it appears likely that there was a
complex genetic determination of the
• development of many details of the Ne­
anderthal morphological pattern.
Broadly, then, the Neanderthal physi­
cal pattern evolved in 50 millenniums or
1 -
more; thereafter it remained relatively
constant for about another 50 millen­
niums. Then came the observed transi­
tion, within Neanderthal territory, to an
.... .
essentially modern human anatomy in
•
about 5,000 years. The various evolu­
• tionary and anatomical considerations
I I L I I seem to fit best a model that presents the
o -­ I I I
evolution of populations of anatomical­
o 2 3 4 6 7 8 9
SHAPE 5 ly modern men (the early Upper Paleo­
lithic people of Europe and the final
MUL TlV ARIATE ANALYSIS of fossil and modern skulls compares 18 measurements in
terms of size (ordinate) and shape (abscissa). An average of European Upper Paleolithic skulls
Mousterians of the Near East) in partial
(open square) is used as the point of departure. Farthest removed from the starting point in isolation from the majority of the Nean­
terms of shape and well removed in terms of size is the Middle Pleistocene skull from Petralona derthals. These populations may have
(colored triangle at far right). More removed in terms of size but nearer in terms of shape are the arisen from a strictly Neanderthal popu­
skulls of Rhodesian man (colored triangle to right of center) and a Near Eastern Neanderthal, lation or a non-Neanderthal one. At any
from Amud (colored triangle at top center). The colored square near the center represents the rate they undoubtedly spread, absorbing
average of European Neanderthal skulls; the Middle Pleistocene European fossil from Stein­ and replacing various local Neanderthal
heim (open colored circle), although it is smaller than the Neanderthal average, is quite close to
populations across the Near East and
the Neanderthal average in shape. The Sacco pastore skulls (colored dot), most recent of the
Europe. The time and place of the estab­
early Neanderthals, are surprisingly close to the averages of two modern skull samples (black
lishment of these earliest modern peo­
dots): Norwegians and Zulus. The same is true of two skulls from Qafzeh (black triangle) and
another specimen from the Levant, SkhOI 5 (black square). The modern and the Levant speci­ ple within the Neanderthal area are not
mens diverge only trivially from the European Upper Paleolithic average. This Penrose size yet known.
and shape analysis was done by Christopher Stringer of the British Museum (Natural History). The main selective force that favored

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the modern physique over the N eander­
thal one also remains to be discovered.
Was it perhaps climatic change? Actu­
ally the last glacial period reached its
coldest point more than 1 0,000 years af­
ter the transition from the Neanderthal
physique to the modern one, and there
is no consisterit correlation between
the transition and any major climatic
change. Was it ecology? Both kinds of
men hunted the same game and presum­
ably collected the same plant foods.
Was it cultural advance? Here we
have the best evidence in the form of the
stone tools. It is hard to see that the spe­
cific Upper Paleolithic tools have m uch
of an advantage over the Mousterian
ones, for hunting, for gathering or for
any other subsistence activity. It is more
likely that, as the M ousterian tools were
beginning to suggest the Upper Paleo­
lithic forms, there arrived a threshold
in human subsistence patterns, and that
the only indication of the threshold ap­
pears in the tools themselves. One might
hypothesize that crossing this threshold
made the bulky Neanderthal physique
both unnecessary and too costly in its
food requirements, thereby initiating a
rapid red uction in body size and con­
ceivably even a change in all the spe­
cial Neanderthal traits. Alternatively
the improvement in stone working tech­
niques and the associated behavioral
changes may have given a significant
adaptive advantage to the less heavy­
bodied Upper Paleolithic people.

t is interesting that between 40,000

I and 3 5,000 years ago there was a
marked increase in the complexity of
the sociocultural system of these hom i­
nids. Soon thereafter various forms of
art are a regular feature at archaeologi­
cal sites, implying the existence of well­
established rituals for various kinds of
social behavior. Although ritual existed
considerably earlier among the Nean­
derthals, as is indicated by their bur ial
practices, a rapid increase in its com­
plexity would suggest that some thresh­
old had been reached in the evolution
of the sociocultural system. The cross­
ing of such a threshold may well have
had significant influence on the biologi­
cal evolution of these prehistoric hu­
man populations.
The problems remain: on the theoreti­
cal side the nature of the advantage giv­
ing rise to the transition and on the fac­
tual side the lack of datable fossils that
would make the real story clear. Yet the
importance of the N eanderthals is that
so much is now known about them, in­
comparably more than is known about
other human pop ulations that lived at
the same time. Reconciling this wealth
of information with what is known
about evolution in general presents by
far the best opportunity for the scientific
study of human development in the late Jack Daniel Distillery, Lem M
Ple istocene. Route I, Lynchburg (Pop. 361 ),

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