Neanderthals

1. Neanderthals By: Brandon, Eric, and Riley. Welcome to the Paleolithic era. Today, we will be teaching you about Neanderthals! Neanderthals were dim-witted brutes who were excellent with fire. Please join us on a journey through time. However, before we begin, just a news flash: dinosaurs and Neanderthals did NOT live in the same time period. Additionally, scientists believe that Neanderthals had bent bones, based on a skeleton they found. However, this assumption may or may not be true!

2. Dates and Places Africa, Europe, and Asia were common places for Neanderthals about 200,000 years ago. [1] They migrated a lot in their life. That time period was called the Paleolithic Era, also known as the Stone or Ice Age.[2] Sadly, the cave people didn’t have watches, so they couldn’t tell time!

3. Physical Appearance Neanderthals had a different skull compared to a modern human’s. It was much larger. It was made for big brains, but Neanderthals had very small brains.[3] They also were much taller, stronger, and had better vision than earlier hominids. They had no cavities, unlike people now. [4]

4. Shelter Some Neanderthals created their homes with animal hide, much like they created clothes. Some, on the other hand, lived in caves. Most Neanderthals would live in caves, though,[5] probably because it provided more safety than a regular shelter.

5. Food Most Neanderthal food included bison, oxen, woolly mammoth, nuts, and berries. [6] The men would hunt for the big animals. The women picked berries and gathered nuts. Occasionally, the women also would hunt for small animals. The men would scare the big animals with fire, scaring them off the edge of a cliff. [7]

6. Daily Life The daily life of a Neanderthal included these activities: hunting, migrating, cooking, making fire, and just staying away from predators. Gathering food such as berries, roots, and nuts was another thing that Neanderthals would do. They also made tools on a daily basis. [8]

7. Tools Neanderthals would use rocks that had pointy edges for spears. They would sometimes use these as arrows, too. All of the tools were made out of rock until bones were used as needles. [9] Eventually, Neanderthals also made tools out of deer antlers, which they hunted for food. [10] They started using antlers a little bit after the Stone Age. [11]

8. The Neanderthals were excellent with fire. They used it to cook food, scare away predators, hunt, and, of course, to stay warm. [12] For example, Neanderthals would light a torch and scare BIG animals off cliffs. [13] They also used fire for light, much like us, except we use electricity.

9. Religion and Ceremonies Neanderthals that did have religious beliefs placed flowers and occasionally animal horns on the grave of their dead loved ones. [14] The Neanderthals did feel like they had to do something for their loved ones, so they would give them respect. [15] You may think Neanderthals are all hunt and eat, but they were actually religious sometimes. It kind of makes you wonder…

10. Development of Language Scientists believe that Neanderthals communicated through pictures.[16] It is like having a conversation, but you would be in a cave, painting pictures on walls and ceilings. Some would even crawl through little openings in caves to draw,[17] risking their lives, not even knowing if there were dangerous animals somewhere inside.[18]

11. Clothing The Neanderthals would wear animal hide. The men would hunt the animals. Soon after an animal had been killed, they would cut off the animal’s hide. They would then either cut holes in the hide for their neck and arms, or they would just use the hide as a blanket.[19] Imagine if your favorite blanket was animal hide.

12. Paintings and Carving Neanderthals drew cave paintings and made sculptures.[20] Neanderthals would crawl through the tiniest cracks to get into caves, just to paint on the walls.[21] They would grind stuff up to make chalk. The main colors of the Neanderthals’ chalks were brown, tan, black, and yellow.[22] They would also make sculptures out of bone and clay.[23]

13. Questions • Did the Neanderthals have naturally have bent bones? If not, explain why scientist might think so. • What time period did Neanderthals live in? • How did Neanderthals use fire to hunt?

14. Answers • No, since it was the first skeleton of Neanderthals ever found, scientists based their guesses on that one skeleton, but it turned out that the skeleton had really bad arthritis. • The Neanderthals lived in the Ice Age. A.K.A, 200,000 years ago. • The Neanderthals would make torches and scare the animal off a cliff.

15. Conclusion So in the end, it turned out that Neanderthals did not have bent bones. Scientists had just found a skeleton of a man who had severe arthritis.[24] So if in the future you somehow find a new type of early humans, don’t judge it on the first find.

16. End Notes • Kearns, Marsha, “Australopithecus,” Early Humans, p. 1. • “Australopithecus,” http://www.anthro4n6.net/lucy, p. 7. • Ibid. • California Vistas Ancient Civilizations, Macmillan McGraw-Hill, NY, 2007, Tools, p. 73. • Ibid, p 72. • “Australopithecus,” Australopithecus, http://www.earlyhumans.mrdonn.org/. • “Australopithecus,” http://www.anthro4n6.net/lucy, pp. 1-2. • “Australopithecus,” Australopithecus, http://www.earlyhumans.mrdonn.org/. • Ibid. • California Vistas Ancient Civilizations, Macmillan McGraw-Hill, NY, 2007, p. 73.

17. Bibliography California Visits Ancient Civilizations. Macmillan/McGraw Hill: New York, NY, 2007. Kearns, Marsha.“Homo Habilis.” Early Humans. Creative Teaching Press: CA, 1993. “Neanderthal.” Neanderthal. http://www.earlyhumans.mrdonn.org/.