Neanderthal behavior

A Mousterian tool retoucher on a bone-shaft from the French site of La Quina, used to modify stone tools.

The details about Neanderthal behaviour remain highly controversial. From their physiology, Neanderthals are presumed to have been omnivores, but animal protein formed the majority of their dietary protein, showing them to have been carnivorous apex predators and not scavengers. ^[1] Although very little is known of their social organization, it appears patrilines would make up the nucleus of the tribe, and women would seek out partners in neighbouring tribes once reaching adolescence, presumably to avoid inbreeding. ^[2] An analysis based on finger-length ratios suggests that Neanderthals were more sexually competitive and promiscuous than modern-day humans. ^[3]

The quality of stone tools at archaeological sites suggests Neanderthals were good at "expert" cognition, a form of observational learning and practice – acquired through apprenticeship – that relies heavily on long-term procedural memory. ^[4] Neanderthal toolmaking changed little over hundreds of thousands of years. The lack of innovation may imply a reduced capacity for thinking by analogy and less working memory. Researchers have speculated that Neanderthal behaviour would probably seem neophobic, dogmatic and xenophobic to modern humans, ^{[4] [5]} but nevertheless having a considerable degree of rationality. ^[6] There is genetic evidence that supports interbreeding with Homo sapiens, language capability (including the FOXP2 gene), archaeological signs of cultural development and potential for cumulative cultural evolution. ^[7] Few Neanderthals lived past the age of 35. ^[8]

Language

See also: Origin of language

The hyoid bone and larynx in a modern human.

It is not known whether Neanderthals were anatomically capable of speech and whether they spoke. ^[9] The only bone in the vocal tract is the hyoid, but it is so fragile that no Neanderthal hyoid was found until 1983, when excavators discovered a well-preserved one on Neanderthal Kebara 2, Israel. It was largely similar to that of living humans. Although the original excavators claimed that the similarity of this bone with that of living humans implied Neanderthals were anatomically capable of speech, ^[10] it is not possible to reconstruct the vocal tract with information supplied by the hyoid. ^{[11] [12] [13] [14]} In particular, it does not allow to determine if the larynx of its owner was in a low-lying position, a feature considered important in producing speech. ^{[15] [16]}

A 2013 study on the Kebara hyoid used X-ray microtomography and finite element analysis to conclude that the Neanderthal hyoid showed microscopic features more similar to a modern human's hyoid than to a chimpanzee hyoid. To the authors, that suggested the Neanderthal hyoid was used similarly to that in living humans, that is, to produce speech. ^[17]

Although some researchers think Neanderthal tool-making is too complex for them not to have had language, ^[18] tool-making experiments of Levallois technology, the most common Neanderthal toolmaking technique, have found that living humans can learn it in silence. ^[19]

Neanderthals had the same DNA-coding region of the FOXP2 gene as living humans, but are different in one position of the gene's regulatory regions, ^[20] and the extent of FOXP2 expression might hence have been different in Neanderthals. ^[21] Although the gene appears necessary for language, it is not sufficient. ^[22] It is not known whether FOXP2 evolved for or in conjunction with language, nor whether there are other language-related genes that Neanderthals may or may not have had. Similarly, the size and functionality of the Neanderthal Broca's and Wernicke's areas, used for speech generation in modern humans, is debated.

In 1998, researchers suggested Neanderthals had a hypoglossal canal at least as large as humans, suggesting they had part of the neurological requirements for language. The canal carries the hypoglossal nerve, which controls the muscles of the tongue, necessary to produce language. ^[23] However, a Berkeley research team showed no correlation between canal size and speech, as several extant non-human primates and fossilized australopithecines have larger hypoglossal canals. ^[24]

The morphology of the outer and middle ear of Homo heidelbergensis , the Neanderthal's ancestor, suggests they had an auditory sensitivity similar to modern humans and different from chimpanzees. ^[25]

Tools

Neanderthal and early anatomically modern human archaeological sites show a simpler toolkit than those found in Upper Paleolithic sites, produced by modern humans after about 50,000 BP. In both early anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals, there is little innovation in the technology. In 2020 a 50,000-year-old three-ply cord fragment made from bark was found at the Abri du Maras, France site. Bruce Hardy of Kenyon College, Ohio, concluded that the creation of the cord suggested a cognitive understanding of numeracy and context-sensitive operational memory. ^[26]

Tools produced by Middle Palaeolithic humans in Eurasia (both Neanderthals and early modern humans) are known as Mousterian. These were often produced using soft hammer percussion, with hammers made of materials like bones, antlers, and wood, rather than hard hammer percussion, using stone hammers. A result of this is that their bone industry was relatively simple. They routinely made stone implements. Neanderthal tools consisted of stone flakes and task-specific hand axes, many of which were sharp.

There is evidence of violence among Neanderthals. The 40,000-year-old Neanderthal skull of St. Césaire has a healed fracture in its cranial vault likely caused by something sharp, suggesting interpersonal violence. The wound healed and the Neanderthal survived. ^[27]

Whether they had projectile weapons is controversial. They seem to have had wooden spears, but it is unclear whether they were used as projectiles or as thrusting spears. ^[28] Wood implements rarely survive, ^[29] but several 320,000-year-old wooden spears about two metres in length were found near Schöningen, northern Germany, and are thought to be the product of the older Homo heidelbergensis species.

Neanderthals used fire on occasion, but it is not certain whether they were able to produce it. They may have used pyrolusite (manganese dioxide) to accelerate the combustion of wood. "With archaeological evidence for fireplaces and the conversion of the manganese dioxide to powder, [it has been argued] that Neanderthals at Pech-de-l’Azé I used manganese dioxide in fire-making and produced fire on demand." MnO₂ lowers the combustion temperature of wood from 350 degrees Celsius to 250 degrees Celsius and is common in Neanderthal archaeological sites. ^[30]

Neanderthals produced birch tar through the dry distillation of birch bark. ^{[31] [32]} It was long thought that birch tar made by Neanderthals required them to follow a complex recipe and that it thus showed complex cognitive skills (to arrive at this recipe) and cultural transmission (of this recipe). A study from 2019 showed that birch tar production can instead be a very simple process - merely involving the burning of birch bark near smooth vertical surfaces in open-air conditions. ^[33]

Pendants and other jewellery showing traces of ochre dye and deliberate grooving have also been found in one single stratigraphically disturbed Neanderthal archaeological layer, ^[34] but whether these items were ever in the hands of Neanderthals or were mixed into their archaeological layers from overlying modern human ones is debated.

Burial claims

A claimed Neanderthal burial at Kebara Cave (Carmel Range, Israel). Thermoluminescence dates place Neanderthal levels at Kebara at ca. 60,000 BP. Skeleton of an adult man nicknamed Moshe (25–35 years old, height 1.70 m) found in 1983

Further information: Paleolithic burial

No claim of a deliberate Neanderthal burial is universally accepted. ^{[35] [36] [37]} An interpretation of pre-Neanderthal Shanidar IV as having been ritually buried with flowers ^[38] was seriously questioned in the past, ^[39] and to Paul B. Pettitt, convincingly eliminated: "A recent examination of the microfauna from the strata into which the grave was cut suggests that the pollen was deposited by the burrowing rodent Meriones tersicus (Persian jird), which is common in the Shanidar microfauna and whose burrowing activity can be observed today". ^[40]

However, further excavations of the site which began in 2014 led to new discoveries and multiple lines of evidence that the Neanderthal was deliberately buried, including the fact that the sediment layer around the body is visibly different to the layer below. Additionally, the sediment below the body shows signs of having been disturbed by digging. According to Emma Pomeroy of the University of Cambridge, "That’s quite good evidence that something was dug out and that’s what the body’s been put in." ^[41]

Diet

See also: Pleistocene human diet

Neanderthals obtained protein in their diet from animal sources. ^[42] Evidence-based isotope studies show that Neanderthals ate primarily meat. ^{[43] [44] [45]} Neanderthals were probably apex predators, ^[46] and fed predominantly on deer, namely red deer and reindeer, as they were the most abundant game, ^[47] but also on ibex, wild boar, aurochs, and less frequently mammoth, straight-tusked elephant and woolly rhinoceros. ^{[48] [49] [50]}

Traces of fossilized plants have been extracted from Neanderthal teeth tartar found in Belgium and Iraq, suggesting they also consumed plants. ^{[51] [52] [53]}

Burned food remnants, thought to be about 70,000 years old, were found in the Shanidar Caves, 500 miles north of Baghdad. Dr Ceren Kabukcu, an archaeobotanist at the University of Liverpool said, "We present evidence for the first time of soaking and pounding pulse seeds by both Neanderthals and early modern humans." ^[54]

Cannibalism

Neanderthals are thought to have practised cannibalism or ritual defleshing. This hypothesis was formulated after researchers found marks on Neanderthal bones similar to the bones of a dead deer butchered by Neanderthals. ^{[55] [56]}

Neanderthal bones from various sites (Combe-Grenal and Abri Moula in France, Krapina in Croatia and Grotta Guattari in Italy) have all been cited as bearing cut marks made by stone tools. ^[57] However, the results of technological tests have revealed varied causes.

Re-evaluation of these marks using high-powered microscopes, comparisons to contemporary butchered animal remains, and recent ethnographic cases of excarnation mortuary practises have shown that perhaps this was a case of ritual defleshing.

• At Grotta Guattari, the purposefully widened base of the skull (for access to the brain) is caused by carnivore action, with hyena tooth marks found on the skull and mandible.^{[ citation needed ]}
• According to some studies,^{[ which? ]} fragments of bones from Krapina show marks similar to those on bones from secondary burials at a Michigan ossuary (14th century AD), and are indicative of removing the flesh of a partially decomposed body.
• According to others, the marks on the bones found at Krapina are indicative of defleshing, although whether this was for nutritional or ritual purposes cannot be determined with certainty. ^[58]

Evidence of cannibalism includes:

• Analysis of bones from Abri Moula in France does seem to suggest cannibalism was practised here. Cut-marks are concentrated in places expected in the case of butchery, instead of defleshing. Additionally, the treatment of the bones was similar to that of roe deer bones, assumed to be food remains, found in the same shelter. ^[59]
• At El Sidron in Northern Spain, scientists have found evidence pointing to the cannibalism of 12 individuals by what is hypothesized to have been a neighbouring group of Neanderthals. According to Carles Lalueza-Fox of the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Barcelona, the individuals (three children aged from two to nine, three teenagers, and six adults) appear to have been "killed and eaten, with their bones and skulls split open to extract the marrow, tongue and brains." Scientists speculate that the lack of any evidence of fire makes it likely that the event happened in winter, during times when food was scarce. ^[60]

Evidence indicating cannibalism would not distinguish Neanderthals from modern humans, which are known to have practised both cannibalism and mortuary defleshing (e.g., the sky burial of Tibet).

Claims of art and adornment

Further information: Art of the Middle Paleolithic and Cave of Maltravieso

Proposed Neanderthal jewelry: white-tailed eagle claw with striations at the Neanderthal site of Krapina, Croatia, circa 130,000 BP.

A large number of claims of Neanderthal art, adornment, and structures have been made, which would show Neanderthals were capable of symbolic thought and a degree of human rationality. ^{[62] [63] [64] [65]} However, none of them are widely accepted as evidence of symbolism, ^[66] as the dating often interlaps with anatomically modern human presence in Europe. ^{[67] [68]} Some notable findings are listed below.

• Flower pollen on the body of pre-Neanderthal Shanidar 4, Iraq, had in 1975 been argued to be a flower burial, ^[69] but the pollen could have also been deposited by natural events. ^{[70] [71]}
• In 1975, a piece of flat flint with a piece of bone pushed through a hole on the midsection–dating to 32, 40, or 75 kya ^[72] –has been purported to resemble the upper half of a face, with the bone representing eyes–the Mask of la Roche-Cotard. ^{[73] [74]} It is contested whether it represents a face, or if it even constitutes art. ^[75]
• Châtelperronian beads have been attributed to Neanderthals, but the dating is uncertain and the beads may have been made by modern humans. ^{[76] [77] [78] [79]}
• Bird bones were argued to show evidence for feather plucking in a 2012 study examining 1,699 ancient sites across Eurasia, which the authors controversially took to mean Neanderthals wore bird feathers as personal adornments. ^{[80] [81]}

The scratched floor of Gorham's Cave

• Deep scratches on the floor of Gorham's Cave, Gibraltar, were dated to older than 39 kya in 2012, which some have controversially interpreted as Neanderthal abstract art. ^{[82] [83] [84] [85]}
• In 2015, a study argued that several 130,000-year-old eagle talons found in a cache near Krapina, Croatia along with Neanderthal bones, had been modified to be used as jewellery. ^{[61] [86]} A similar talon necklace was reported in 2019 at Cova Foradà in Spain. ^{[87] [88]}
• Two artificial 176,000-year-old stalagmite ring structures several metres wide, more than 300 m (980 ft) from the entrance within Bruniquel Cave, France, were reported in 2016. Being so far inside the cave also shows the use of artificial lighting in underground environments. ^[89] Other red-painted stalagmites in Spain were dated to 65,500 years ago. ^[90]
• In 2017, incision-decorated raven bones from the Zaskalnaya VI (Kolosovskaya) Neanderthal site, Crimea, Micoquian industry dated to 43–38 kya were reported. Given there are 17 of these objects at seven different sites in the area, and the notches on all of them are more or less equidistant to each other, they are very unlikely to have originated from simple butchering. ^[91]
• In 2018, red-painted symbols comprising hand stencils, a ladder-shaped figure, ^[90] dots, discs, lines, and representations of animals on the cave walls of several caves across Spain 700 km (430 mi) apart, including La Pasiega, ^{[90] [92]} Cave of Maltravieso, ^[90] Cave of El Castillo, ^[93] and Doña Trinidad–were dated to be older than 66,000 years ago. ^[90] If the dating is correct, they were painted at least 20,000 years before the arrival of anatomically modern humans in western Europe, and demonstrate Neanderthals were capable of symbolic behaviour. ^{[90] [67] [68] [94]}
• The Cave of Los Aviones in Spain has yielded ochred and perforated marine shells, red and yellow colourants, and shell "makeup containers" ^[95] that feature residues of complex pigment mixtures. ^[96] The pigments on the seashells were dated to 115,000 years old, making these "the oldest personal ornamentation known anywhere in the world," predating the presence of Homo sapiens . ^{[97] [96] [98] [99]}
• In 2023 markings found in a cave in La Roche-Cotard were identified as the oldest known Neanderthal engravings and have been dated to more than 57,000 years ago, before modern humans arrived in the region. ^{[100] [101]}

References

1. Richards M.P.; Pettitt P.B.; Trinkaus E.; Smith F.H.; Paunović M.; Karavanić I. (June 2000). "Neanderthal diet at Vindija and Neanderthal predation: The evidence from stable isotopes". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 97 (13): 7663–36. Bibcode:2000PNAS...97.7663R. doi: 10.1073/pnas.120178997 . PMC   16602 . PMID   10852955.
2. Skov, Laurits; Peyrégne, Stéphane; Popli, Divyaratan; Iasi, Leonardo N. M.; Devièse, Thibaut; Slon, Viviane; Zavala, Elena I.; Hajdinjak, Mateja; Sümer, Arev P.; Grote, Steffi; Bossoms Mesa, Alba; López Herráez, David; Nickel, Birgit; Nagel, Sarah; Richter, Julia (2022-10-19). "Genetic insights into the social organization of Neanderthals". Nature. 610 (7932): 519–525. Bibcode:2022Natur.610..519S. doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05283-y. ISSN   1476-4687. PMC   9581778 . PMID   36261548.
3. "Neanderthals were more promiscuous than modern humans, fossil finger bones suggest".
4. Wynn T, Coolidge F (14 January 2012). "The inner Neanderthal". New Scientist. 213 (2847): 26–27. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(12)60110-9.
5. Ko, Kwang Hyun (2016). "Hominin interbreeding and the evolution of human variation". Journal of Biological Research-Thessaloniki. 23: 17. doi: 10.1186/s40709-016-0054-7 . PMC   4947341 . PMID   27429943.
6. Whiting, Kai; Konstantakos, Leonidas; Sadler, Greg; Gill, Christopher (2018). "Were Neanderthals Rational? A Stoic Approach". Humanities. 7 (2): 39. doi: 10.3390/h7020039 ..
7. Whiting, Kai; Konstantakos, Leonidas; Sadler, Greg; Gill, Christopher (2018-04-21). "Were Neanderthals Rational? A Stoic Approach". Humanities. 7 (2): 39. doi: 10.3390/h7020039 .
8. Stringer, C.; Gamble, C. (1993). In Search of the Neanderthals . London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN   978-0-500-05070-5.
9. P. Lieberman (2007). "The evolution of human speech". Current Anthropology. 48 (1): 39–66. doi:10.1086/509092. S2CID   28651524.
10. Arensburg B, Tillier AM, Vandermeersch B, Duday H, Schepartz LA, Rak Y (April 1989). "A Middle Palaeolithic human hyoid bone". Nature. 338 (6218): 758–60. Bibcode:1989Natur.338..758A. doi:10.1038/338758a0. PMID   2716823. S2CID   4309147.
11. J.T. Laitman; B. Johansson (1990). "The Kebara hyoid: What can it tell us about the evolution of the hominid vocal tract". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 81 (2): 254. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330810204.
12. J.T. Laitman; .S. Reidenberg; D.R. Friedland; P.J. Gannon (1991). "What sayeth thou Neanderthal? A look at the evolution of their vocal tract and speech". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 34 (S12): 109. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330340505 .
13. W.T. Fitch (2002). "Comparative vocal production and the evolution of speech: reinterpreting the descent of the larynx". In A. Wray (ed.). The Transition to Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
14. W.T. Fitch (2009). "Fossil cues to the evolution of speech". In R. Botha; C. Knight (eds.). The Cradle of Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 112–134.
15. Lieberman, P. (1989). "Folk physiology and talking hyoids". Nature. 342 (6249): 486–7. Bibcode:1989Natur.342..486M. doi:10.1038/342486b0. PMID   2685609. S2CID   31049444.
16. P. Lieberman (1994). "Hyoid bone position and speech: reply to Dr. Arensburg et al. (1990)". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 94 (2): 275–78. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330940211. PMID   8085618.
17. D’Anastasio, Ruggero; Wroe, Stephen; Tuniz, Claudio; Mancini, Lucia; Cesana, Deneb T.; Dreossi, Diego; Ravichandiran, Mayoorendra; Attard, Marie; Parr, William C.H.; Agur, Anne; Capasso, Luigi; Frayer, David (18 December 2013). "Micro-Biomechanics of the Kebara 2 Hyoid and Its Implications for Speech in Neanderthals". PLOS ONE. 8 (12): e82261. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...882261D. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082261 . PMC   3867335 . PMID   24367509.
18. Wynn & Coolidge, p. 27
19. K. Ohnuma; K. Aoki; T. Akazawa (1997). "Transmission of tool-making through verbal and non-verbal communication: Preliminary experiments in Levallois flake production". Journal of Anthropological Sciences . 105 (3): 159–68. doi: 10.1537/ase.105.159 .
20. T. Maricic; V. Günther; O. Georgiev; S. Gehre; et al. (2013). "A recent evolutionary change affects a regulatory element in the human FOXP2 gene". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 30 (4): 844–52. doi: 10.1093/molbev/mss271 . PMID   23197593.
21. Pääbo, Svante (2014). "The human condition. A molecular approach". Cell. 157 (1): 216–26. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2013.12.036 . PMID   24679537.
22. Wade, Nicholas (19 October 2007). "Neanderthals Had Important Speech Gene, DNA Evidence Shows". The New York Times . Retrieved 18 May 2009.
23. Kay RF, Cartmill M, Balow M (April 1998). "The hypoglossal canal and the origin of human vocal behaviour". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 95 (9): 5417–19. Bibcode:1998PNAS...95.5417K. doi: 10.1073/pnas.95.9.5417 . PMC   20276 . PMID   9560291.
24. DeGusta D, Gilbert WH, Turner SP (February 1999). "Hypoglossal canal size and hominid speech". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 96 (4): 1800–04. Bibcode:1999PNAS...96.1800D. doi: 10.1073/pnas.96.4.1800 . PMC   15600 . PMID   9990105.
25. Martínez I, Rosa M, Arsuaga JL, Jarabo P, Quam R, Lorenzo C, Gracia A, Carretero JM, Bermúdez de Castro JM, Carbonell E (July 2004). "Auditory capacities in Middle Pleistocene humans from the Sierra de Atapuerca in Spain". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 101 (27): 9976–81. Bibcode:2004PNAS..101.9976M. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0403595101 . PMC   454200 . PMID   15213327.
26. "50,000-year-old string found at France Neanderthal site". BBC News. 13 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
27. C.P.E. Zollikofer; M.S. Ponce de León; B. Vandermeersch & F. Lévêque (2002). "Evidence for interpersonal violence in the St. Césaire Neanderthal". PNAS. 99 (9): 6444–48. Bibcode:2002PNAS...99.6444Z. doi: 10.1073/pnas.082111899 . PMC   122968 . PMID   11972028.
28. Churchill, Steven E. (2002). "Of assegais and bayonets: Reconstructing prehistoric spear use". Evolutionary Anthropology. 11 (5): 185–86. doi: 10.1002/evan.10027 .
29. Pettitt, Paul (February 2000). "Odd man out: Neanderthals and modern humans". British Archaeology. 51. ISSN   1357-4442 . Retrieved 18 May 2009.
30. Heyes, Peter J.; Anastasakis, Konstantinos; De Jong, Wiebren; Van Hoesel, Annelies; Roebroeks, Wil; Soressi, Marie (2016). "Selection and Use of Manganese Dioxide by Neanderthals". Scientific Reports. 6: 22159. Bibcode:2016NatSR...622159H. doi:10.1038/srep22159. PMC   4770591 . PMID   26922901.
31. Kozowyk, P.R.B.; Soressi, M.; Pomstra, D.; Langejans, G.H.J. (2017-08-31). "Experimental methods for the Palaeolithic dry distillation of birch bark: implications for the origin and development of Neandertal adhesive technology". Scientific Reports. 7 (1): 8033. Bibcode:2017NatSR...7.8033K. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-08106-7. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   5579016 . PMID   28860591.
32. Tozzi, Carlo; Vitagliano, Silvana; Douka, Katerina; Jacobs, Zenobia; Lucejko, Jeannette J.; Pollarolo, Luca; Villa, Paola; Soriano, Sylvain; Degano, Ilaria (2019-06-20). "Hafting of Middle Paleolithic tools in Latium (central Italy): New data from Fossellone and Sant'Agostino caves". PLOS ONE. 14 (6): e0213473. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1413473D. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213473 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   6586293 . PMID   31220106.
33. Schmidt P, Blessing M, Rageot M, Iovita R, Pfleging J, Nickel KG, Righetti L, Tennie, C (2019). "Birch tar extraction does not prove Neanderthal behavioral complexity". PNAS. 116 (36): 17707–17711. Bibcode:2019PNAS..11617707S. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1911137116 . PMC   6731756 . PMID   31427508.
34. Kuhn SL, Stiner MC, Reese DS, Güleç E (June 2001). "Ornaments of the earliest Upper Paleolithic: New insights from the Levant". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 98 (13): 7641–46. Bibcode:2001PNAS...98.7641K. doi: 10.1073/pnas.121590798 . PMC   34721 . PMID   11390976.
35. Gargett, R.H. (1999). "Middle Palaeolithic burial is not a dead issue: the view from Qafzeh, Saint-Césaire, Kebara, Amud, and Dederiyeh". Journal of Human Evolution. 37 (1): 27–90. doi:10.1006/jhev.1999.0301. PMID   10375476.
36. Gargett, R.H. (1989). "Grave Shortcomings: The Evidence for Neandertal Burial". Current Anthropology. 30 (2): 157–90. doi:10.1086/203725. S2CID   146781901.
37. H. Dibble; V. Aldeias; P. Goldberg; D. Sandgathe; T.E. Steele (2015). "A critical look at evidence from La Chapelle-aux-Saints supporting an intentional burial". Journal of Archaeological Science. 53: 649–57. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2014.04.019.
38. Solecki, Ralph S. (November 1975). "Shanidar IV, a Neanderthal Flower Burial in Northern Iraq". Science . 190 (4217): 880–81. Bibcode:1975Sci...190..880S. doi:10.1126/science.190.4217.880. S2CID   71625677.
39. Sommer, J. D. (1999). "The Shanidar IV 'Flower Burial': a Re-evaluation of Neanderthal Burial Ritual". Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 9 (1): 127–29. doi:10.1017/S0959774300015249. ISSN   0959-7743. S2CID   162496872.
40. Pettitt, Paul (2002). "The Neanderthal dead". Before Farming. 2002 (1): 1–26. doi:10.3828/bfarm.2002.1.4.
41. Marshall, Michael (18 February 2020). "70,000-year-old remains suggest Neanderthals buried their dead". newscientist.com. New Scientist. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
42. Ungar, Peter (2007). Evolution of the human diet: the known, the unknown, and the unknowable. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. ISBN   978-0-19-518346-7.
43. Jaouen, Klervia; et al. (19 February 2019). "Exceptionally high δ15N values in collagen single amino acids confirm Neandertals as high-trophic level carnivores". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America . 116 (11): 4928–4933. Bibcode:2019PNAS..116.4928J. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1814087116 . PMC   6421459 . PMID   30782806.
44. Yika, Bob (19 February 2019). "Isotopes found in bones suggest Neanderthals were fresh meat eaters". Phys.org . Retrieved 19 February 2019.
45. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (19 February 2019). "Neanderthals' main food source was definitely meat - Isotope analyses performed on single amino acids in Neanderthals' collagen samples shed new light on their debated diet". Science Daily . Retrieved 21 February 2019.
46. Bocherens, H.; Drucker, D. G.; Billiou, D.; Patou-Mathis, M.; Vandermeersch, B. (2005). "Isotopic evidence for diet and subsistence pattern of the Saint-Césaire I Neanderthal: Review and use of a multi-source mixing model". Journal of Human Evolution. 49 (1): 71–87. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.03.003. PMID   15869783.
47. Dusseldorp, G. L. (2013). "Neanderthals and Cave Hyenas: Co-existence, Competition or Conflict?" (PDF). In Clark, J. L.; Speth, J. D. (eds.). Zooarchaeology and Modern Human Origins. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. pp. 191–208. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-6766-9_12. ISBN   978-94-007-6765-2.
48. Papagianni, D.; Morse, M. (2013). The Neanderthals Rediscovered. Thames & Hudson. ISBN   978-0-500-05177-1.
49. Richards, M. P.; Pettitt, P. B.; Trinkaus, E.; Smith, F. H.; Paunović, M.; Karavanić, I. (2000). "Neanderthal diet at Vindija and Neanderthal predation: The evidence from stable isotopes". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 97 (13): 7663–66. Bibcode:2000PNAS...97.7663R. doi: 10.1073/pnas.120178997 . JSTOR   122870. PMC   16602 . PMID   10852955.
50. Fiorenza, Luca; Benazzi, Stefano; Tausch, Jeremy; Kullmer, Ottmar; Bromage, Timothy G.; Schrenk, Friedemann (2011). Rosenberg, Karen (ed.). "Molar Macrowear Reveals Neanderthal Eco-Geographic Dietary Variation". PLOS ONE. 6 (3): e14769. Bibcode:2011PLoSO...614769F. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0014769 . PMC   3060801 . PMID   21445243.
51. Harmon, Katherine (27 December 2010). "Fossilized food stuck in Neandertal teeth indicates plant-rich diet". Scientific American . Retrieved 5 September 2014.
52. Ghosh, Pallab. "Neanderthals cooked and ate vegetables." BBC News. 27 December 2010.
53. Henry, A.G.; Brooks, A. "S.; Piperno, D.R. (2010). "Microfossils in calculus demonstrate consumption of plants and cooked foods in Neanderthal diets (Shanidar III, Iraq; Spy I and II, Belgium)". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108 (2): 486–91. Bibcode:2011PNAS..108..486H. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1016868108 . PMC   3021051 . PMID   21187393.
54. Geddes, Linda (23 November 2022). "Oldest cooked leftovers ever found suggest Neanderthals were foodies". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
55. "The caves that prove Neanderthals were cannibals".
56. "Researchers discover the first evidence of Neanderthal cannibalism in northern Europe".
57. Andrea Thompson (4 December 2006). "Neanderthals Were Cannibals, Study Confirms". Health SciTech. LiveScience.
58. Pathou-Mathis M (2000). "Neanderthal subsistence behaviours in Europe". International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. 10 (5): 379–95. doi: 10.1002/1099-1212(200009/10)10:5<379::AID-OA558>3.0.CO;2-4 .
59. Defleur A, White T, Valensi P, Slimak L, Cregut-Bonnoure E (1999). "Neanderthal cannibalism at Moula-Guercy, Ardèche, France". Science. 286 (5437): 128–31. doi:10.1126/science.286.5437.128. PMID   10506562.
60. Leake, Jonathan "We’ll have our neighbours for dinner – raw", The Sunday Times , London, 24 November 2013. Retrieved on 19 April 2015.
61. Radovčić, D.; Sršen, A. O.; Radovčić, J.; Frayer, D. W.; Petraglia, M. D. (2015). "Evidence for Neandertal Jewelry: Modified White-Tailed Eagle Claws at Krapina". PLOS ONE. 10 (3): e0119802. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1019802R. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0119802 . PMC   4356571 . PMID   25760648.
62. "Neanderthals were not inferior to modern humans, study finds".
63. Lazaro, Enrico de (January 18, 2017). "Neanderthals Capable of Incorporating Symbolic Objects into Their Culture, Discovery Suggests | Archaeology | Sci-News.com". Sci.News: Breaking Science News.
64. Heavy Brows, High Art?: Newly Unearthed Painted Shells Show Neandertals Were Homo sapiens' Mental Equals
65. I. Sample (2014). "Neanderthals were not less intelligent than modern humans, scientists find". The Guardian.
66. N. Branan (2010). "Neandertal Symbolism: Evidence Suggests a Biological Basis for Symbolic Thought". Scientific American.
67. Pike, A. W.; Hoffmann, D. L.; Pettitt, P. B.; García-Diez, M.; Zilhão, J. (2017). "Dating Palaeolithic cave art: Why U–Th is the way to go" (PDF). Quaternary International. 432: 41–49. Bibcode:2017QuInt.432...41P. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.12.013. S2CID   130629624.
68. D. L. Hoffmann; C. D. Standish; M. García-Diez; P. B. Pettitt; J. A. Milton; J. Zilhão; J. J. Alcolea-González; P. Cantalejo-Duarte; H. Collado; R. de Balbín; M. Lorblanchet; J. Ramos-Muñoz; G.-Ch. Weniger; A. W. G. Pike (2018). "U-Th dating of carbonate crusts reveals Neandertal origin of Iberian cave art". Science. 359 (6378): 912–15. Bibcode:2018Sci...359..912H. doi: 10.1126/science.aap7778 . hdl: 10498/21578 . PMID   29472483.
69. R. S. Solecki (1975). "Shanidar IV, a Neanderthal Flower Burial in Northern Iraq". Science. 190 (4217): 880–81. Bibcode:1975Sci...190..880S. doi:10.1126/science.190.4217.880. S2CID   71625677.
70. D.J. Sommer (1999). "The Shanidar IV 'Flower Burial': a Re-evaluation of Neanderthal Burial Ritual". Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 9 (1): 127–29. doi:10.1017/s0959774300015249. S2CID   162496872.
71. Pettitt, P. B. (2002). "The Neanderthal Dead, exploring mortuary variability in Middle Paleolithic Eurasia". Before Farming. 1 (4).
72. Marquet, J.; Lorblanchet, M.; Oberlin, C.; Thamo-Bozso, E.; Aubry, T. (2016). "New dating of the "mask" of La Roche-Cotard (Langeais, Indre-et-Loire, France)". Paleo Revue d'Archéologie Préhistorique. 27: 253–263.
73. Marquet, J.-C.; Lorblanchet, M. (2003). "A Neanderthal face? The proto-figurine from La Roche-Cotard, Langeais (Indre-et-Loire, France)". Antiquity. 77 (298): 661–670. doi:10.1017/s0003598x00061627. ISSN   0003-598X. S2CID   162609308.
74. Pettitt, P. B. (2003). "Is this the infancy of art? Or the art of an infant? A possible Neanderthal face from La Roche-Cotard, France" (PDF). Before Farming. 11 (3). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2011.
75. "But is it art?". Science. 302 (5, 652): 1890a–1890. 2003. doi:10.1126/science.302.5652.1890a. S2CID   149146480.
76. Higham, T.; Jacobi, R.; Julien, M.; David, F.; Basell, L.; Wood, R.; Davies, W.; Ramsey, C. B. (2010). "Chronology of the Grotte du Renne (France) and implications for the context of ornaments and human remains within the Chatelperronian". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 107 (47): 20234–20239. Bibcode:2010PNAS..10720234H. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1007963107 . PMC   2996711 . PMID   20956292.
77. Mellars, P. (2010). "Neanderthal symbolism and ornament manufacture: The bursting of a bubble?". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 107 (47): 20147–20148. Bibcode:2010PNAS..10720147M. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1014588107 . PMC   2996706 . PMID   21078972.
78. J.-J. Hublin; S. Talamo; M. Julien; F. David; N. Connet; P. Bodu; B. Vandermeersch; M.P. Richards (2012). "Radiocarbon dates from the Grotte du Renne and Saint-Césaire support a Neandertal origin for the Châtelperronian". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. 109 (46): 18743–18748. Bibcode:2012PNAS..10918743H. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1212924109 . PMC   3503158 . PMID   23112183.
79. F. Welkera; M. Hajdinjak; S. Talamo; K. Jaouen; M. Dannemann; F. David; M. Julien; M. Meyer; J. Kelso; I. Barnes; S. Brace; P. Kamminga; R. Fischer; B.M. Kessler; J.R. Stewart; S. Pääbo; M.J. Collins; J.-J. Hublin (2016). "Palaeoproteomic evidence identifies archaic hominins associated with the Châtelperronian at the Grotte du Renne". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. 113 (40): 11162–67. Bibcode:2016PNAS..11311162W. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1605834113 . PMC   5056053 . PMID   27638212.
80. "Did Neanderthals use feathers for fashion?". New Scientist. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
81. Finlayson, C.; Brown, K.; Blasco, R.; Rosell, J.; Negro, J. José; Bortolotti, G. R.; Finlayson, G.; Sánchez Marco, A.; Giles Pacheco, F.; Rodríguez Vidal, J.; Carrión, J. S.; Fa, D. A.; Rodríguez Llanes, J. M. (2012). "Birds of a Feather: Neanderthal Exploitation of Raptors and Corvids". PLOS ONE. 7 (9): e45927. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...745927F. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045927 . PMC   3444460 . PMID   23029321.
82. E. Callaway (2014). "Neanderthals made some of Europe's oldest art". Nature News. doi:10.1038/nature.2014.15805. S2CID   163840392.
83. Rodríguez-Vidal, J.; d'Errico, F.; Pacheco, F. G. (2014). "A rock engraving made by Neanderthals in Gibraltar". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (37): 13, 301–13, 306. Bibcode:2014PNAS..11113301R. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1411529111 . PMC   4169962 . PMID   25197076.
84. E. Callaway (2014). "Neanderthals made some of Europe's oldest art". Nature News. doi:10.1038/nature.2014.15805. S2CID   163840392.
85. "Neanderthal 'artwork' found in Gibraltar cave". BBC. 1 September 2014.
86. Callaway, E. (2015). "Neanderthals wore eagle talons as jewellery". Nature. doi: 10.1038/nature.2015.17095 . S2CID   191368693.
87. Eagle Talon Jewelry Suggests Neanderthals Were Capable of Human-Like Thought. Megan Gannon, Smithsonian Magazine. 1 November 2019.
88. Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.; Morales, J. I.; Cebrià, A.; Courtenay, L. A.; Fernández-Marchena, J. L.; García-Argudo, G.; Marín, J.; Saladié, P.; Soto, M.; Tejero, J.-M.; Fullola, J.-M. (2019). "The Châtelperronian Neanderthals of Cova Foradada (Calafell, Spain) used imperial eagle phalanges for symbolic purposes". Science Advances. 5 (11): eaax1984. Bibcode:2019SciA....5.1984R. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aax1984. PMC   6824858 . PMID   31701003.
89. Jaubert, J.; Verheyden, S.; Genty, D.; Soulier, M.; Cheng, H.; Blamart, D.; Burlet, C.; Camus, H.; Delaby, S.; Deldicque, D.; Edwards, R. L.; Ferrier, C.; Lacrampe-Cuyaubère, F.; Lévêque, F.; Maksud, F.; Mora, P.; Muth, X.; Régnier, É.; Rouzaud, J.-N.; Santos, F. (2016). "Early Neanderthal constructions deep in Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France". Nature. 534 (7605): 111–114. Bibcode:2016Natur.534..111J. doi:10.1038/nature18291. PMID   27251286. S2CID   205249458.
90. It's Official: Neanderthals Created Art. Chris Standish and Alistair Pike. Sapiens.org. 22 May 2018.
91. d’Errico, F.; Tsvelykh, A. (2017). "A decorated raven bone from the Zaskalnaya VI (Kolosovskaya) Neanderthal site, Crimea". PLOS ONE. 12 (3): e0173435. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1273435M. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0173435 . PMC   5371307 . PMID   28355292.
92. "Neanderthals thought like we do". www.mpg.de. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
93. World's Oldest Cave Art Found—Made by Neanderthals?. Ker Than. National Geographic News. Published June 14, 2012.
94. Marris, Emma (2018). "Neanderthal artists made oldest-known cave paintings". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-018-02357-8.
95. "Neanderthal 'make-up' discovered". BBC News. 9 January 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
96. Hoffmann, Dirk L.; Angelucci, Diego E.; Villaverde, Valentín; Zapata, Josefina; Zilhão, João (2018). "Symbolic use of marine shells and mineral pigments by Iberian Neandertals 115,000 years ago". Science Advances. 4 (2): eaar5255. Bibcode:2018SciA....4.5255H. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aar5255. PMC   5833998 . PMID   29507889.
97. World's Oldest Cave Art Found—And Neanderthals Made It. Michael Greshko, National Geographic. 22 February 2018.
98. Archaeologists Have Discovered the World's Oldest Cave Paintings—And They're by Neanderthals. Sarah Cascone, Art Net. February 23, 2018.
99. Archaeologists Have Discovered the World's Oldest Cave Paintings—And They’re by Neanderthals. Sarah Cascone, Art Net. February 23, 2018.
100. Sample, Ian (21 June 2023). "French cave markings said to be oldest known engravings by Neanderthals". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
101. Marquet, Jean-Claude; Freiesleben, Trine Holm; Thomsen, Kristina Jørkov; Murray, Andrew Sean; Calligaro, Morgane; Macaire, Jean-Jacques; Robert, Eric; Lorblanchet, Michel; Aubry, Thierry; Bayle, Grégory; Bréhéret, Jean-Gabriel; Camus, Hubert; Chareille, Pascal; Egels, Yves; Guillaud, Émilie (2023-06-21). "The earliest unambiguous Neanderthal engravings on cave walls: La Roche-Cotard, Loire Valley, France". PLOS ONE. 18 (6): e0286568. Bibcode:2023PLoSO..1886568M. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286568 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   10284424 . PMID   37343032.

Sources

• Boë, Louis-Jean; Jean-Louis Heim; Kiyoshi Honda; Shinji Maeda (July 2002). "The potential Neandertal vowel space was as large as that of modern humans" (PDF). Journal of Phonetics. 30 (3): 465–84. doi:10.1006/jpho.2002.0170. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 24, 2006.
• Lieberman, Philip (October 2007). "Current views on Neanderthal speech capabilities: A reply to Boe et al. (2002)". Journal of Phonetics. 35 (4): 552–63. doi:10.1016/j.wocn.2005.07.002.