Neanderthals Ate Dolphins, Seals, Cave

Neanderthals Ate Dolphins, Seals, Cave Remains Suggest.

The article by John Roach details the recent findings about Neanderthal dietary habits unearthed in various caves in Gibraltar. According to the researchers who uncovered and examined the artifacts, the remains of dolphin, seals, mussels, and other types of marine life indicate that, contrary to previous assumptions, Neanderthals actually hunted and otherwise exploited the seas for food in much the same way as early Homo Sapiens.

Traditional anthropological and evolutionary theorists had previously believed that one of the reasons Homo Sapiens thrived while Neanderthals became extinct was substantially attributable to their inability to exploit some of the same resources responsible for the success of the early humans who eventually populated the entire planet. If the analyses of the recovered remains prove accurate, anthropologists must come up with alternate explanations for the apparent sudden disappearance of Neanderthals at time when they coexisted with Homo Sapiens as recently as 28,000 years ago.

Analysis and Commentary:

It may very well be that Neanderthals possessed capabilities and intelligence more similar to those of modern humans than previously believed. It is curious that so much intellectual thought is devoted to identifying the supposed differences between modern human beings and the last proto-humans to nearly survive into recorded history. In some ways, it reflects a sort of "anthropomorphism" that presumes something uniquely special about modern humans differentiates us from all other hominids and other animal species. We already know that even some of our closest simian ancestors share upwards of 97% of the same genetic code that defines our species. By all anthropological accounts, early-modern proto-human hominids like Neanderthals, Cro-Magnon Man, and Homo Habilis bore much closer similarity to Homo Sapiens than any surviving modern simian species. In all likelihood, Neanderthals possessed very similar abilities and comparable intellect to modern human beings.

The extinction of Neanderthal man is more likely related to slight differences in suitability for survival after the most recent ice age, or to being out-competed by Homo Sapiens and other animal species in their ecological niche than to any dramatic or fundamental differences between them respectively. In some respects, continual focus on identifying specific reasons for the demise of Neanderthals perpetuates the exaggerated self-importance that many of us presume corresponds to humanity.

Conclusion: