Neanderthal Again?
NEANDERTHAL MAN
For many years, evolutionists taught that Neanderthals (sometimes spelled Neandertals) were brawny, prehistoric creatures that used primitive stone tools, whereas “modern” humans’ descendants were more sophisticated. If we were to spot a Neanderthal walking the streets of a modern city, we likely would recognize him by his prominent brow ridges, low forehead, flat skull, weak chin, jutting mid-facial region, very large nose, forward-sloping face, and short, muscular limbs—to name some of the more visible characteristics (see Stringer and Gamble, 1993, pp. 76-77).
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language uses words such as crude, boorish, and slow-witted to describe this species. However, as the facts slowly are becoming known, they are requiring a renovation of that definition. After discovering the first Neanderthal skullcap in 1856 in the Neander Valley near Dusseldorf, Germany, German anatomist Ruldolph Virchow said in essence that the fossil was the remains of a modern man afflicted with rickets and osteoporosis.
In 1958, at the International Congress of Zoology, A.J.E. Cave stated that his examination of the famous Neanderthal skeleton established that it was simply an old man who had suffered from arthritis. Francis Ivanhoe authored an article that appeared in Nature, titled “Was Virchow Right About Neanderthal?” (1970). Virchow had reported that the Neanderthal man’s ape-like appearance was due to a condition known as rickets, which is a vitamin D deficiency characterized by overproduction and deficient calcification of bone tissue. The disease results in skeletal deformities, enlargement of the liver and spleen, and tenderness throughout all the body. Dr. Cave noted that every Neanderthal skull Neanderthal child’s skull that had been studied to that point in time apparently was affected by severe rickets, which in children commonly produces a large head due to late closure of the epiphysis and fontanels.
Even though Ivanhoe was an evolutionist, he nevertheless went on to note that the wide distribution of Neanderthal finds in various parts of the world explained the differences seen in bone configuration. The extreme variation in locations of these Neanderthal discoveries probably played a role in the diversity of fossils assigned to the Neanderthal group. The differences likely were the result of different amounts of sunlight for a given area, which prevented or retarded vitamin D production (vitamin D is manufactured in the skin upon exposure to sunlight). In adults, a lack of vitamin D causes osteomalacia, a softening of the bones that results in longer bones “bowing” (a condition reported in many Neanderthal fossils).
Scientists have debated long and hard concerning whether there exists any difference between modern humans and Neanderthal specimens. One of the world’s foremost authorities on the Neanderthals, Erik Trinkaus concluded: Detailed comparisons of Neanderthal skeletal remains with those of modern humans have shown that there is nothing in Neanderthal anatomy that conclusively indicates locomotor, manipulative, intellectual or linguistic abilities inferior to those of modern humans.
In the March 2, 2001 issue of Science, Ann Gibbons authored an article titled The Riddle of Coexistence (Gibbons, 2001). She began with a dramatic opening, asking the reader to imagine forty thousand years ago when “our ancestors wandered into Europe and met another type of human already living there, the brawny, big-brained Neandertals.” She then went on to state that “such a collision between groups of humans must have happened many times” (291:1725). Can’t you just picture that introduction? “Hi, I’m Neandertal Man.” Reply, “Nice to meet you Mr. Neandertal, I’m Modern Man.”
This “collision” of two groups was necessitated by recent fossil findings that place Neanderthals and modern humans in the same place at the same time. Scientists dated the remains of anatomically modern humans from caves at Qafzeh and Skhul in Israel, and found them to be 92,000 to 100,000 years old (according to their measuring techniques). However, this is 40,000 years before the fossil record has Neanderthals inhabiting the neighboring cave of Kebara, only 100 meters away from Skhul! No missing link here.
For many years, evolutionists taught that Neanderthals (sometimes spelled Neandertals) were brawny, prehistoric creatures that used primitive stone tools, whereas “modern” humans’ descendants were more sophisticated. If we were to spot a Neanderthal walking the streets of a modern city, we likely would recognize him by his prominent brow ridges, low forehead, flat skull, weak chin, jutting mid-facial region, very large nose, forward-sloping face, and short, muscular limbs—to name some of the more visible characteristics (see Stringer and Gamble, 1993, pp. 76-77).
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language uses words such as crude, boorish, and slow-witted to describe this species. However, as the facts slowly are becoming known, they are requiring a renovation of that definition. After discovering the first Neanderthal skullcap in 1856 in the Neander Valley near Dusseldorf, Germany, German anatomist Ruldolph Virchow said in essence that the fossil was the remains of a modern man afflicted with rickets and osteoporosis.
In 1958, at the International Congress of Zoology, A.J.E. Cave stated that his examination of the famous Neanderthal skeleton established that it was simply an old man who had suffered from arthritis. Francis Ivanhoe authored an article that appeared in Nature, titled “Was Virchow Right About Neanderthal?” (1970). Virchow had reported that the Neanderthal man’s ape-like appearance was due to a condition known as rickets, which is a vitamin D deficiency characterized by overproduction and deficient calcification of bone tissue. The disease results in skeletal deformities, enlargement of the liver and spleen, and tenderness throughout all the body. Dr. Cave noted that every Neanderthal skull Neanderthal child’s skull that had been studied to that point in time apparently was affected by severe rickets, which in children commonly produces a large head due to late closure of the epiphysis and fontanels.
Even though Ivanhoe was an evolutionist, he nevertheless went on to note that the wide distribution of Neanderthal finds in various parts of the world explained the differences seen in bone configuration. The extreme variation in locations of these Neanderthal discoveries probably played a role in the diversity of fossils assigned to the Neanderthal group. The differences likely were the result of different amounts of sunlight for a given area, which prevented or retarded vitamin D production (vitamin D is manufactured in the skin upon exposure to sunlight). In adults, a lack of vitamin D causes osteomalacia, a softening of the bones that results in longer bones “bowing” (a condition reported in many Neanderthal fossils).
Scientists have debated long and hard concerning whether there exists any difference between modern humans and Neanderthal specimens. One of the world’s foremost authorities on the Neanderthals, Erik Trinkaus concluded: Detailed comparisons of Neanderthal skeletal remains with those of modern humans have shown that there is nothing in Neanderthal anatomy that conclusively indicates locomotor, manipulative, intellectual or linguistic abilities inferior to those of modern humans.
In the March 2, 2001 issue of Science, Ann Gibbons authored an article titled The Riddle of Coexistence (Gibbons, 2001). She began with a dramatic opening, asking the reader to imagine forty thousand years ago when “our ancestors wandered into Europe and met another type of human already living there, the brawny, big-brained Neandertals.” She then went on to state that “such a collision between groups of humans must have happened many times” (291:1725). Can’t you just picture that introduction? “Hi, I’m Neandertal Man.” Reply, “Nice to meet you Mr. Neandertal, I’m Modern Man.”
This “collision” of two groups was necessitated by recent fossil findings that place Neanderthals and modern humans in the same place at the same time. Scientists dated the remains of anatomically modern humans from caves at Qafzeh and Skhul in Israel, and found them to be 92,000 to 100,000 years old (according to their measuring techniques). However, this is 40,000 years before the fossil record has Neanderthals inhabiting the neighboring cave of Kebara, only 100 meters away from Skhul! No missing link here.
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