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尼安德特人并不笨
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It's about time we gave our Neanderthal ancestors a break
Over the past few years, our perception of Neanderthals has been shifting from a brutish cave man to a sophisticated human, with a rich culture
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/changing-view-of-neanderthals
When you think of a Neanderthal, you might conjure up a picture of a grunting cave man with poor brain power, capable of little other than hunting animals. You'd be wrong.
Over the past few years, our perception of Neanderthals has been changing dramatically; from a brutish cave man to a sophisticated human, with a rich culture. This collection of evidence continues to grow, painting a more accurate picture of our ancestors. And experts say we still have much more to learn.
Last month, another piece of evidence came to light which had the power to change our understanding of human history. Stone tool marks found on the 130,000-year-old remains of a mastodon revealed ancient humans may have landed in North America some 115,000 years earlier than previously thought.
“I was shocked,” Dr John McNabb, senior lecturer in Palaeolithic Archaeology at the University of Southampton, who was not involved in the study, told WIRED. “It goes against everything we have ever thought about this topic.”
The evidence the team found at the site indicates a hominin species was living in North America 115,000 years earlier than previously thought.
“It opens up so many questions,” McNabb said. “Who were these early migrants? How did they get across to the Americas at a time of high sea level when the Bering Straits would have been even wider than they are today? Its a real puzzler - if, of course, the find is genuine.”
We do not know what species these migrants were, and it is possible they were Neanderthals.
Most humans have a small amount of Neanderthal DNA in them. Our ancient cousins, Neanderthals first emerged around 280,000 years ago. After inhabiting much of Europe and parts of Asia, they died out 40,000 years ago. Their demise is often attributed to them being a more primitive species of human, unable to compete against the more sophisticated Homo sapiens, yet this may not have been the case.
A study from March, published in Nature, suggested Neanderthals who lived 48,000 years ago had knowledge of medicinal plants and ate them to quell pains.
The humans were also the first to create stone tools. Excavations in the Dordogne region in the south-west of France in 2013 found four fragments of Neanderthal bone tools used to treat leather.
Stone buildings were thought to have only emerged in modern humans with the development of farming around 10,000 years ago, but a study published in June last year (Nature), suggested 176,000 years ago, Neanderthals were already constructing stone structures. These structures, consisting of 400 pieces of broken stalagmites, were found in a cave in south-west France, in a commune called Bruniquel, in 1992. When they were finally analysed last year, researchers said Neanderthals must have made the structures, because they were the only known humans in Europe at the time.
In a separate discovery, by the Muséum National d'Histories Naturelle, a 40,000-year-old, 26-foot-wide building made from mammoth bones was found. A 60,000-year-old multi-purpose bone tool also discovered in France shows Neanderthals knew how to use bones to make useful devices.
Culturally, Neanderthals are thought to have developed rituals much like our own.
“We think they buried their dead,” McNabb told WIRED. “Some people argue they had grave goods to mourn the passing of loved ones, and that they cared for their old. “Some studies even suggest they had art and practised body decoration, much like we do.” A paper published in 2010 showed evidence of shells with holes in, apparently strung together and worn like beads. The authors claimed this was evidence of Neanderthal jewellery.
McNabb says it is difficult to pinpoint just a few studies that outline the progress made in recent years when it comes to our understanding of Neanderthals. “It’s the slowly accumulating weight of evidence that is really making people think again,” he told WIRED. “That's just good science.”
As the recent finding threatening to completely rewrite our understanding of human history shows, we have a lot left to uncover. “There is so much we have learned, but there is still a lot more to learn as yet,” McNabb says.
发表评论 评论 (16 个评论)
- 回复 smileREGENT
- 伯爵好久不见了
- 回复 Dracula
- 我们是Homo Sapiens，我们的祖先是10几万年以前在非洲出现的，和Neanderthals并不是同一个物种（species）。因此这不是古人和现代人的区别，而是物种之间的区别。以前科学家认为Neanderthals要比我们Homo Sapiens笨，所以4万年前被我们的祖先给物种灭绝了，但现在的研究表明并不是那么简单。
猫元帅: 用聪明和笨来形容古人类是错误的。古人类相比现代人，缺乏的是认知的广度，但是在实用性的技能方面丝毫不输给现代人。 ...
- 回复 猫元帅
- 你说的这个和我说的不矛盾。其实尼安德特人和我们原来说的古人类没有那么大差别。按照现在的说法，不是驴和马那种差别。并没有所谓的生殖隔离什么的。
Dracula: 我们是Homo Sapiens，我们的祖先是10几万年以前在非洲出现的，和Neanderthals并不是同一个物种（species）。因此这不是古人和现代人的区别，而是物种之间的区别 ...
- 回复 Dracula
- Neanderthals和我们Homo Sapiens的DNA还是有很大区别的，因此是不同的物种。我觉得你断言“用聪明和笨来形容古人类是错误的”，有点武断了。如果是用来说我们在10万年前的Homo Sapiens祖先的话，是可以的，因为我们的DNA是一样的，但是象Neanderthals这种不是一个物种的人类，研究他们是不是聪明我觉得还是很有意义的一个问题。而且得靠科学家收集到的证据来回答，不能先验的给答案。
猫元帅: 你说的这个和我说的不矛盾。其实尼安德特人和我们原来说的古人类没有那么大差别。按照现在的说法，不是驴和马那种差别。并没有所谓的生殖隔离什么的。 ...
- 回复 猫元帅
- 目前看，DNA研究结果和化石发掘对不上。比如尼安德特人的脑容量和现代人相差不多。真的比外来古人笨到有代差吗？精细石器就比粗石器有竞争力吗？最简单的例子，使用精细石器的古人类能打过狼群吗？
Dracula: Neanderthals和我们Homo Sapiens的DNA还是有很大区别的，因此是不同的物种。我觉得你断言“用聪明和笨来形容古人类是错误的”，有点武断了。如果是用来说我们在1 ...
- 回复 Dracula
- Neanderthals比Homo Sapiens强壮，却被我们的祖先给灭绝了，我以前看到的解释是因为我们比他们聪明。现在看来不一定。
猫元帅: 目前看，DNA研究结果和化石发掘对不上。比如尼安德特人的脑容量和现代人相差不多。真的比外来古人笨到有代差吗？精细石器就比粗石器有竞争力吗？最简单的例子， ...
- 回复 tanis
- 也许我们携带了一种灭绝他们的病毒~
Dracula: Neanderthals比Homo Sapiens强壮，却被我们的祖先给灭绝了，我以前看到的解释是因为我们比他们聪明。现在看来不一定。 ...
- 回复 库布其
- 他们能和我们的祖先有一腿，留下他们的基因，还能算是不同的物种吗？不知道该怎么定义一个物种。生殖隔离？
Dracula: Neanderthals和我们Homo Sapiens的DNA还是有很大区别的，因此是不同的物种。我觉得你断言“用聪明和笨来形容古人类是错误的”，有点武断了。如果是用来说我们在1 ...