A Neanderthal man cuts a point intended for hunting (reconstruction) • ISTOCKPHOTO What level of culture and technology could the Neanderthals have reached if they had not disappeared? This question, which comes under “fictional prehistory”, is nevertheless one of those posed by scientists who study the Neanderthal world. Recent discoveries and new research methods now make it possible to establish many affinities between the cultural and cognitive abilities of Homo neanderthalensis and those of its African counterpart from the same period:Homo sapiens , the most direct ancestor of our species. It is considered that Neanderthals are the last representatives of a human lineage that spread in Europe between - 500000 and - 40000 approximately. According to many researchers, its oldest representatives would constitute its own species:Homo heidelbergensis , to which belong the human bones found in sites such as Sima de los Huesos in Atapuerca (Spain), Mauer (Germany), Petralona (Greece) or Caune de l'Arago (France). The genetic study of the fossils of Sima de los Huesos seems to confirm a direct relationship between these European populations, then between them and the Neanderthals who will follow. This would imply a line with autonomous evolution, distinct from Homo sapiens , came from Africa at the same time. Hunting and group cohesion There are very few data on the origin and behavior of Homo heidelbergensis , the first representative of the Neanderthal. Deposits dated between - 500,000 and - 400,000 are rare in Eurasia, and it would be risky to make any assertions. It seems that around 750,000 years ago, the first populations occupying Europe for more than a million years diminished and almost disappeared. The absence of later deposits indicates a demographic void in Europe, which ended 550,000 years ago with the arrival of Homo heidelbergensis , probably from a region of Asia. He introduced the Acheulean to our continent, a name given to a lithic facies characterized by the working of large stone tools, such as almond-shaped bifaces, carved on both sides and with sharp edges. It is also known that Homo heidelbergensis could hunt ungulates (hoofed animals) of medium or large size, such as horses, bison and deer. A lesion observed on the shoulder of a horse found in the English deposit of Boxgrove would be due to the impact of a spear. It is reasonable to assume that the hominids of southern England living 500,000 years ago had effective instruments for hunting. But the methods of slaughtering the animals remain an enigma:were the spears throwing weapons or were they used for goading? Hunting large ungulates takes strategy and involves forming a group. The majority of these clans did not know fire. It is assumed that foci exist in certain deposits in Germany and Eastern Europe. However, new analyzes carried out using recent techniques seem to disprove the idea that fire was regularly used by these communities. An unprecedented treatment reserved for the dead Perhaps the most innovative aspect of early Neanderthals was how they treated their dead. The Spanish site of Sima de los Huesos is instructive in this respect. The presence of the bones of 28 hominids who lived 400,000 years ago and currently extracted from the site can only be explained, according to the research team, because these deceased were placed there intentionally. Theory reinforced by the fact that the skeletons are almost complete and belong to a specific age group:they are adolescents and young adults (outside this category, only the bones of a child and a an adult in his forties). This singular treatment observed at Sima de los Huesos contrasts with the traces of cannibalism observed at other sites, such as that of Caune de l'Arago, in France. The human bones there show deliberate fractures, practiced to extract the marrow, and cuts resulting from the dismemberment of the bodies. The scientists who work on this deposit think of a ritual linked to cannibalism, but which they dissociate from the ingestion of human meat to feed themselves in times of crisis (during famines, for example). This hypothesis is based on the study of the anatomy of teeth which, throughout their formation, record the history of humans, like the growth rings of trees. No disruption of diet has been observed among these populations, and large numbers of animals of all kinds have been found in the cave, suggesting cannibalism responding not to a necessity, but to a symbolic reason, even ritual. Surviving the climate crisis One of the coldest periods on the planet since the appearance of the genus Homo , more than 2.5 million years ago, changes the world where Homo heidelbergensis lives , ancestor of Neanderthals. For reasons still unknown, the climate changes suddenly between - 400,000 and - 350,000, and the cold imprisons Homo heidelbergensis in a true genetic bottleneck. The absence of deposits during this period would indicate that climate change pushed hominids to take refuge in more temperate southern zones, the Mediterranean coast in Europe and the Near East. Pockets of populations, genetically isolated from each other, form and thus promote speciation, that is, the process by which one species generates another. Be that as it may, the absence of remains dating from this period could be explained not only by a decline in demography, but also by the modification of the coastline accompanying these climatic upheavals. Cold periods generally cause the planet's water to accumulate with glaciation at the poles. Consequently, the sea level drops and the continents are more arid due to the absence of water in the atmosphere; when the climate warms up, which was the case at the end of the last ice age, the poles thaw and sea levels rise. It is therefore possible that the sea engulfed most of the archaeological remains corresponding to the period in which the new Neanderthals made their appearance. Some populations, however, manage to overcome the climate crisis and, with the warming that occurs between - 350,000 and - 300,000, quickly colonize again the territories abandoned by their ancestors because of the cold. But the physical and cultural traits of these populations already differ from those of Homo heidelbergensis . The Neanderthal world has changed. A new, highly efficient tool The surviving individuals then exhibited most of the well-developed traits with which researchers depict Neanderthals. The skull was low and rounded, with an increased brain volume which in some cases exceeded 1,500 cubic centimeters. These hominids had a pronounced prominence above the eyes (the supra-orbital bulge), wide nostrils and a non-existent chin. The average height increased from 1.80 meters of Homo heidelbergensis at 1.65 meters, but the muscle mass is identical. They were therefore small, very robust individuals, but with a short life expectancy, like all the hominids of prehistory and even of later periods, whose age was rarely to exceed 40 years. Technology has also evolved. If Homo heidelbergensis is linked to the Acheulean culture for more than 100,000 years, the new archaeological sites bear witness to clear innovations. One of these new lithic facies, the Mousterian, ends up imposing itself and will be adopted by a large part of the Eurasian groups. This involves the use of new ways of cutting stone, such as the so-called Levallois method:the core is worked in such a way as to extract shards of stone whose shape has been pre-designed by the cutter. The edges of the blades are then retouched, in order to obtain specific tools adapted to different tasks. Neanderthal tools diversified and – among other very varied objects – now included spear points, different scrapers depending on whether they were used to scrape skins or to cut meat, denticulates for woodworking, and drills. If bifaces and other large tools are still present in the sites, they are however less frequent and are found in places where large animals were killed and skinned. These new methods of pruning are so effective that they will last until the disappearance of the Neanderthal line. A bit of greenery with the meat Technical innovations are not confined to the size of the stone. During this period, fire became a crucial part of the daily life of the clans. Many theories concern the appearance of fire on sites dating back a million years, in Africa and the Near East, that is to say before Neanderthal. But these sites do not attest to a use of fire identical to that of the Neanderthals, the first to have made it the heart of their domestic activities, from cooking food to exploiting light and heat. for shaping tools. The Qesem Cave in Israel is the oldest site where this type of activity has been observed. It reveals a controlled and continuous use of fire, dating back to - 350,000. The human bones discovered at Qesem – mainly teeth – seem closer to those of European Neanderthals of this same period than to those of African populations of the line. sapiens . Closer to home, the Bolomor cave in Spain has hearths dating back almost 250,000 years, well structured and showing obvious traces of charred bones at the lower levels, which could indicate an earlier use of fire in this area. geographical. From - 250,000, traces of the domestication of fire multiplied and, almost 100,000 years ago, fire became the nerve center of almost all the sites where Neanderthals took refuge. The diet also seems to be changing. Neanderthals have long been considered heavy meat eaters. The idea stemmed in particular from the study of their camps, where the remains of large ungulates abounded, and from analyzes carried out on the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen contained in the bones of certain hominids (these elements indicating a consumption of meat). Nowadays, however, it is possible to know the composition and importance of the plant diet within these communities, by studying the wear of the dentition and the phytoliths (fossilized plant remains) contained in the tartar of the teeth. These new results indicate a significant presence of plants in the usual diet, particularly in that of Neanderthals from the South, who seem to have been good connoisseurs of plant organisms in their immediate environment. The cave of El Sidrón, in Spain, is a good example, studies having revealed frequent use of plants with anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, healing, calming and digestive properties, such as yarrow and chamomile. /P> Proliferation of graves The treatment reserved for the dead is also becoming more complex. Without abandoning its previous practices, such as cannibalism, Neanderthal man adopted a new behavior:burial. The oldest known burial is that of a woman, buried in the Taboun Cave, Israel, around 100,000 years ago. Later, 60,000 years ago, Neanderthal burials – individual or collective – proliferated in different parts of Europe as well as in the Near and Middle East. La Ferrassie and La Chapelle-aux-Saints (France), the cave of Kebara (Israel) and that of Shanidar (Iraq) are among the best known. The discovery of the first burials in the Near East, the region where Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens live together for some time sharing territories, cultures and natural resources, has encouraged some researchers to consider the existence of cultural exchanges between the two lineages, a process that could have led to the adoption of new ways of caring for the deceased . However, a few thousand years later, relations with Homo sapiens will be decisive in the final disappearance of Neanderthal man. Cosmetics and ornaments In Western Europe, the period extending from - 45,000 to - 33,000 approximately corresponds to the transition between the Middle Paleolithic and the Upper Paleolithic, and is distinguished by the disappearance of Neanderthals from the records of archaeologists and their substitution by the first modern human populations, Homo sapiens . It seems that the last Neanderthal communities then experienced a new technical and cultural revolution. The traditional Mousterian pruning methods they have employed for so long are gradually giving way to more sophisticated techniques; these meet new needs, due in particular to the decrease in ungulate herds, extending from the end of the Middle Paleolithic to a late phase of the Upper Paleolithic. A lithic facies, the Châtelperronian, develops in the south of France and in the north of the Iberian peninsula; it gradually replaces the previous tools (often wider than long) with a technique based on blades (longer than wide). There are other cultural acquisitions, such as the use of cosmetics and decorative elements. The feathers and claws of birds of prey found in the sites of Fumane (Italy), Combe-Grenal and Les Fieux (France) or the caves of Gibraltar, probably having ornamental purposes, are a good example of this, as are the perforated shells and stained found in the cave of Los Aviones and in the cave Antón (Spain). Although these elements predate the arrival of modern humans in western Europe, genetics seem to indicate crosses and hybridizations between the two populations. The first sexual contact between the two species could have taken place in the Near East around 100,000 years ago, which explains why current populations in Europe and Asia carry around 3% of the Neanderthal genome. A still unexplained disappearance In any case, the data collected in archeology converge towards a disappearance of the traditional lifestyles of the Neanderthals, which would have occurred at an unequal rate in the different regions of Europe. The trigger for this disappearance is the subject of heated debate within the scientific community. Some scholars argue for resource competition, in which the technological superiority of Homo sapiens would have led to the disappearance of the Neanderthals. It is also possible that the new arrivals brought from the Near East diseases and parasites that the Western Neanderthals would not have resisted, and whose effects would have been comparable to those caused by the arrival of Europeans on the indigenous populations of 'America. In the face of competition theory, other scientists believe that Homo neanderthalensis had already disappeared from most European territories when Homo sapiens arrived . Their theory is based on geological criteria, as they claim that no deposit in western Europe has strata indicating the cohabitation of the two species. These authors estimate the absence of hominids at around 1,000 years between the disappearance of Homo neanderthalensis and the arrival of Homo sapiens . Along the same lines, some paleoanthropologists believe that the much slower rate of reproduction of Neanderthals would have led to a major population decline in the event of a decline in resources, which it probably did. In reality, the information available to archaeologists does not allow us to decide one way or another. It is very likely that the combination of several distinct factors (some of them mere conjecture) caused the disappearance of Neanderthals in Europe. It is hoped that the discovery of deposits and fossils sheds new light on the true causes of the extinction of the line of our evolutionary cousins. Find out more Neanderthal. Another humanity, M. Patou-Mathis, Tempus, 2008.Neanderthal, my brother. 300,000 years of human history, S. Condemi, F. Savatier, Flammarion, 2016. Discovery in the Neander Valley In 1856, workers at a quarry in the Neander Valley near Düsseldorf, Germany, found curious human bones in the sediments of Feldhofer's cave. The question quickly arose as to whether these bones could belong to the missing link between humans and the great apes. Geologist William King named these fossils Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal man); for science, a new human species was born. Similar bones, discovered a few years earlier in other places (Engis in Belgium or the Forbes quarry in Gibraltar), which had first been attributed to malformed individuals, were then identified as belonging to man. of Neanderthal. The Neanderthal Diet It was thought until recently that the Neanderthal menu consisted mainly of animals (horses, deer and large cattle), that is to say a carnivorous diet, suggested by the tools found near the many bones of these animals . But recent studies and new scientific methods have revealed a more diverse diet suited to the environment in which Neanderthals lived. Thus, when the latter was more Mediterranean, the carnivorous diet was more varied and included small animals such as rabbits and birds. On the coast, molluscs and animals washed up on the beaches were eaten, such as dolphins and tuna in Gibraltar. Plants were to be a significant part of their daily diet. As with all omnivores, picking fruits and plants must have occupied a significant part of the time. A new collective way of life From the moment Neanderthal man domesticated fire, his camp displayed increasingly complex characteristics. The places of occupation are divided into specific zones (collective living spaces, sleeping spaces), but systematically around a fire. These particularities made it possible to assess the number of members that a clan could have. We generally observe small groups of 5 to 15 individuals, probably related and moving frequently on their territory. However, it is not excluded that at certain periods coinciding with an influx of resources into a territory, when animals migrated for example, the clans came together to form denser groups. A symbolic thought? Certain elements discovered by archaeologists seem to indicate that Neanderthals may have developed a symbolic thought. Thus, the presence on some sites of feathers and pendants made of marine shells or raptor claws can be interpreted as simple ornaments or as a sign identifying a clan or a symbol. The Maastricht Belvédère site in the Netherlands reveals the use of ochres for cosmetic purposes more than 300,000 years ago. These elements could have had a practical use at first, then acquired a symbolic dimension thereafter. The Presence of Death Neanderthals reacted in various ways to the death of their fellow humans. Human remains are frequent in intentional burials, some being dug beforehand, others exploiting natural cavities. There are individual burials, such as that of the woman of Taboun (Israel) or the "old man" of La Chapelle-aux-Saints (France), and collective burials, such as at Kebara in Israel, at Shanidar in Iraq or at the Ferrassie in France. Many skeletons are arranged in the fetal position. The presence of outfits and symbolic objects placed next to the bones, such as plant elements (flowers, etc.) or offerings of animal origin, is the subject of long debate. But other sites, such as those of El Sidrón (Spain), Abri Moula, Marillac and Combe-Grenal (France) present evidence of cannibalism, probably more symbolic than food.
