Neanderthals Get a Bad Rap

Deep within Bruniquel Cave in France, 980 feet from the entrance, where no light can penetrate, lies a ring and a semicircle of broken stalagmites that is estimated to be 176,000 years old. These stalagmites appear to be purposely cut, and all are similar in length. There are more than 400 of them. That’s about 2 tons of rock. The structure also shows evidence of fire.

The thing is, this was long before Homo Sapiens arrived in the area. It’s also very difficult to get to this part of the cave. I cannot conceive of a way that these formations could come about naturally.

It is quite likely that this structure was created by Neanderthals. We’ll never know why or how. But such an endeavor would have required a certain level of mental sophistication. Communication. Planning. Organization. Abstract thinking. Culture. To me, this is further evidence that Neanderthals get a bad rap.

For most of my life, Neanderthals have been depicted as violent brutes that carried clubs and were only able to grunt aggressively to make a point. I always felt that this had to be wrong. Their species survived for some 400,000 years. You don’t do that if grunting and clubbing are your only skills.

Since I’m fascinated by all things Neanderthal, I reluctantly bid the stalagmite circle adieu, at least for the time being, in order to find out what else this species was capable of. Being our closest relatives, it’s only natural that they have been extensively studied by us. While it’s foolhardy to draw strong conclusions, here are some theories based on evidence found which demonstrates potential sophistication:

Art:

They made jewelry from things like eagle talons, animal teeth and shells.
They used red ochre on their bodies and possibly on their jewelry. They also used some form of yellow colorant.
They painted on walls. Their work was mostly handprints, dots, lines, and geometric shapes, but they also may have created crude symbolic art depicting animals.
They etched designs on stone and on bones.
They collected fossils and crystals.
They may have made musical instruments.

Compassion:

They took care of their injured tribe members, even to the extent that one skeleton had a leg amputation.
They buried their dead.
They may have had cemeteries.

Diet/Health:

They ate mostly meat, so they were skilled hunters.
They even hunted elephants, which would require planning and group communication of some sort.
They also ate plants and fungi and even seafood when available.
Some Neanderthal tribes were vegetarian. (This probably had more to do with food access than it did with some moral imperative, but it shows that they were adaptable.)
They sometimes resorted to cannibalism, or possibly ritual de-fleshing.
They cared enough about their dental hygiene to use some form of toothpicks.
Their bones have been found from Europe to Asia, so they were able to adapt to varied environments, even though their total population was never that large (approximately 10-25,000 worldwide at their height).
The species also survived a rapidly fluctuating climate.
They used plant-based medicines.

Tools/Science/Industry:

They knew how to make rope.
They were able to make a variety of very sharp and effective tools, everything from axes to spears.
They occasionally were found with items not native to their location, so they engaged in some form of trade.
They used pyrolusite to accelerate the combustion of wood.
They made birch tar.
They were not only cave dwellers. Many open-air settlements have been found as well.
They may have made boats.

Communication/Interaction/Breeding:

To avoid inbreeding, their females would go to other tribes when possible.
They also mated with Homo Sapiens, and many of us still carry portions of their DNA.
There is more Neanderthal DNA within us now than the total amount of Neanderthal DNA that existed when they were alive.
Based on finger length (see article below), and the androgens required to produce such fingers, it is believed that Neanderthals were much more promiscuous and competitive than modern humans.
Based on the microbes found in dental plaque, Homo Sapiens shared a microbe with Neanderthals. This suggests that we shared food, or, more romantically, exchanged kisses.

And finally, they used fire as sources of illumination in caves. That brings me back to the French stalagmites. As illuminating (see what I did there?) and fascinating as they are, it’s the first real thing I dislike about the Neanderthals. (Not even cannibalism puts me off. A body’s got to eat something, after all.)

The reason I have a problem with the stalagmite structure is that I love caves as much as I love Neanderthals, so their shenanigans in France, while interesting, are also upsetting. I suppose thinking about preserving things for future generations was not their strong suit. But what’s done is done.

I would like to sit beside that ring of stalagmites deep within that cave in France. While there, I would contemplate the people who created that structure, and imagine what their lives were like. The more we learn about the Neanderthals, the more tragic their demise feels to me. Perhaps I relate to them because they, too, have been misunderstood. Based on the list above, they deserve to be given credit where credit is due, stalagmite destruction notwithstanding.

Sources:

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The View from a Drawbridge

The random musings of an autistic bridgetender with entirely too much time on her hands.