About 500 thousand years ago, Homo erectus (archanthropus) began to be replaced everywhere new look hominids. Called paleoanthropes, these hominids were direct descendants of archanthropes, and retained many of them distinctive features, but at the same time they acquired differences. The key ones were a different shape of the skull and a significantly larger brain volume. They also had a wide forehead and a rounded nape without the protrusion characteristic of archanthropes. Paleoanthropus brain volume almost as good as the brain modern man, and sometimes achieved it.
Of course, paleoanthropes from different areas were quite different from each other; differences can also be traced in time, but they have a sufficient number of similarities to unite them under one name, however, with the caveat that we are talking specifically about the stage of development, and not about a specific biological species. At the same time, there are quite a lot of intermediate forms between archanthropes and modern people, united under this name.
Heidelber man(Fig. 1). Let's start with the early paleoanthropes. They also vary depending on the area, but all generally belong to the species Heidelberg man (homo heidelbergensis), named after the town of Heidelberg in Germany, near which this species was first discovered by Otto Schentensack.
Rice. 1 - Heidelberg Man
For a long time, his opinion was not shared in the scientific world - the jaw found near Heidelberg had a rather primitive structure and was attributed to Pithecanthropus. However, some features of its structure clearly brought its owner closer to modern people. Therefore, when other remains were discovered already in the middle of the 20th century, similar to the bones of Archanthropus, but with some structural features reminiscent of Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons, they began to be considered together with the “man from Heidelberg” as a separate group. There were many finds all over the world; the age of the remains is approximately 600-150 thousand years.
If we consider paleoanthropes from the cultural side, but they had few differences from their ancestors: they used the same tools, were engaged in gathering and hunting, organizing camps, and then leaving the place and going to another area when the one where they stopped was exhausted. However, there seems to be a major change in the communications sector. Based on the structure of their bones, paleoanthropes mastered articulate speech. According to research by anthropologists, the structure of the larynx of australopithecines was similar to apes, the archanthropes began to change, namely, the basicranium began to bend, and finally, some paleoanthropes already had a full bend - and the only benefit that such a change can have is the ability to speak clearly.
In addition, paleoanthropes knew how to make fire and often used it: traces of this are constantly noted at their sites. Bonfires have been recorded since 400 thousand years ago, and in the period 150-200 thousand years ago they became ubiquitous. Migration, mainly in a northern direction, was characteristic of paleanthropes - and the appearance of clothing that protected from the cold is attributed to this time.
Divergence of species and evolutionary paths
While paleoanthropes include hominids from Africa, Europe and Asia, they differ in their anatomy. This is due to the fact that after the resettlement of archanthropes from a single focus in Africa, different groups began to live completely isolated, and began to accumulate differences due to different natural conditions their habitats. There is no agreement among anthropologists about whether paleoanthropes from different areas could interbreed, that is, whether they remained representatives of the same species biologically, but, one way or another, they had as great differences from each other as a wolf and a dog.
Thus, in Europe, archanthropes already from the Lower Pleistocene acquired distinct differences from African ones. As for paleoanthropes, the remains of their European forms are so different from the rest that they are often considered a separate species, which is called an antecessor. All the remains of this species were found in Spain, their age is about 800 thousand years, and they belong to the same geological layer. It is also curious here that there are traces of tools on the bones, as well as on other faunal remains at the sites. This may indicate the practice of cannibalism, and the skull found in Monte Circeo with a broken base, lying in a circle of stones, may indicate ritual cannibalism.
Found enough large number bones, and differences from African paleoanthropes, have been discovered so much that some researchers even consider the antecessor to be the transitional link between working man (homo ergaster) and Heidelberg man, and the later archanthropes are considered a dead-end branch of evolution - since the archanthropes who lived simultaneously with the antecessor in Africa have clearly more archaic anatomy. It is also possible that the antecessor was the last common ancestor for Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals. There are other views: that the hominids found in Spain are a subspecies of Heidelberg man, which leads to the Neanderthals, but is not represented in the evolutionary line of modern man - there is no complete clarity on this issue yet.
Neanderthals(Fig. 2). Among the later European paleoanthropes, two groups can be distinguished: pre-Neanderthals, included in the species Heidelberg man, and Neanderthals themselves (homo neanderthalensis). Pre-Nenanderthals inhabited southern and western Europe, and were replaced by Neanderthals about 150 thousand years ago. Some researchers propose to consider the finds from Swancombe and Sima de los Jesos, whose age dates back up to 400 thousand years, as Neanderthals. Neanderthals most likely originated from Europe, but subsequently also inhabited large areas of Asia.
Rice. 2 - Neanderthal
The name Neanderthal itself comes from a valley in Germany where Neanderthal bones were found in the mid-19th century - as it turned out later, not for the first time, but in previous cases the bones could not be classified correctly. In the 19th century, for a long time it was not recognized that the discovered bones were the remains of another species of people, and some scientists expressed the most amazing ideas, most often believing that the bones were not ancient, but belonged to people with other disabilities who lived relatively recently. But, after there were a lot of finds, and the bones were in a layer of fossil fauna and ancient weapons, which clearly indicated their age, the theories had to be abandoned.
Now Neanderthals have been studied very well, and modern scientists know much more about them than about earlier species. Let's do it brief description their structures. Neanderthals were characterized by rather short stature (165 cm), but they had massive bones, and therefore large muscle mass. Even if by modern standards they did not shine with beauty, it cannot be said that the external differences from modern people were so serious: if a Neanderthal were shaved and dressed in modern clothes, then it is unlikely that he would be so striking that someone would think that he belongs to another biological species. Neanderthals were characterized by a low and sloping forehead, widely spaced eyes and developed brow ridges, the absence of a chin protuberance on the jaw, large incisors, and a long and wide skull. The facial skeleton protruded forward, there was an occipital carina and a masticatory ridge, as well as a retromolar space. The brain cavity of Neanderthals was approximately equal to that of modern humans, even slightly larger (1450 cubic centimeters on average), while the frontal lobe of the brain, responsible for social behavior, was poorly developed, which indicates high aggression. The first burials appeared, which indicates the development of the psyche.
Neanderthals and modern humans - is there continuity?
What was it like historical fate Neanderthals is a difficult question. Previously, they were considered our direct ancestors, but already in those days many noted that the differences between the species were too strong for such a short time period. Finally, it turned out that most likely Neanderthals appeared approximately simultaneously with the first Cro-Magnons, but this happened in Europe and Africa, respectively - which means they were not our ancestors.
There is also a theory in scientific circles that in Europe it was Neanderthals who evolved into homo sapiens, but it has little evidence. It is also contradicted by the fact that these two species coexisted in Europe for a long time, as well as paleogenetic studies. DNA fragments extracted from the bones of Neanderthals, when compared with the DNA of modern people, clearly show a large genetic distance between them, in addition, the DNA of Neanderthals is as far from the DNA of modern Europeans as, for example, from blacks - that is, no continuity can be traced. Most likely, homo sapiens came to Europe from outside, after which the Neanderthals lost competition to them and died out.
Just at the time of the appearance of Neanderthals in Europe, modern people were emerging in Africa, descended from African variants of Heidelberg man, called: early paleoanthropes - Rhodesian man(Homo rhodesiensis), late paleoanthropes - Helmeus man(Homo helmei).
In Asia, evolution also followed its own path, however, it is still difficult to determine how specific the Asian paleoanthropes are, since there is a lack of material for this. It is known that archanthropes coexisted here for some time with homo sapiens, becoming extinct on the islands of Indonesia about 40 thousand years ago.
(Ancient people, Neanderthals)
Paleoanthropus continues the evolution of Pithecanthropus. According to some anthropologists, Neanderthals should be considered not an independent branch, but early representatives of the species Homo sapiens.
The first discovery of a Neanderthal was made earlier than the others that gave the name to the species, in 1848 in Gibraltar (Europe), the second in Neanderthal, which served as the basis for the term “Neanderthal,” which is narrower than paleoanthrope.
Paleoanthropus was widespread in the territory globe and existed for quite a long time. The earliest finds date back to the second interglacial period (300-250 thousand years). The latest - to the last glaciation (80-35 thousand years ago, and perhaps later - finds of Chapelle, Moustier, Ferrady). The vast majority of Neanderthals date back to the last interglacial.
In modern human paleontology, the view of multiple transitions between successive stage groups, including the transition from Pithecanthropus to Neanderthals, is often used. Transitional forms from Pithecanthropus to Neanderthals are considered to be the remains of a skull from the Cave of Araches (Pyrenees), the remains of hominids from Morocco and the Lazare Grotto (France). Transitional forms were also found in southern Africa - in the locations of Broken Hill and Saldania. The volume of the brain cavity of these finds is estimated at 1300 cm3. It has been suggested that Brocken Hill man is a successor to Olduvai Pithecanthropus from East Africa.
Some anthropologists have put forward a hypothesis about a parallel line of evolution of paleoanthropes in Southeast Asia and southern Africa.
In northern Africa (Temara, Jebel, Irhoud, Haua Fteah), bone remains of Neanderthals similar to the “classical” European version were found. Similar finds were made in Iraq (Shanidar Cave). One skeleton from this cave shows signs of amputation on right hand. Bony remains of Neanderthals were discovered in the Crimea, in the Caucasus. The remains of a Neanderthal man with traces of funeral rites were discovered on the territory of Uzbekistan.
In the Asian part of the world, in China (Mapa Grotto), a Pamoanthropus skull was discovered, which cannot be attributed to any European variant, which proves the replacement of the Pithecanthropus morphotype over time by the Neanderthal type for this region.
Two skulls bearing traces of cannibalism were discovered on the island of Java.
These skulls are different from all the others and in terms of structural features are close to Pithecanthropus. However, the volume of the brain cavity is 1035-1255 cm3. Taking this into account, this find is interpreted by anthropologists as a local type of Neanderthal who underwent slow evolution (isolation factor).
The earliest Neanderthals had a brain cavity volume of 1150-1250 cm3. They were characterized by the following morphological features that unite them with both the previous and subsequent forms of hominids: a relatively narrow and high skull, a relatively convex forehead, a massive eyebrow, a rather rounded occiput, a straightened facial region, and the presence of a mental triangle in the lower jaw.
The third molar is larger in size than the second and first (in modern humans, there is a decrease in the size of the molars from the first to the third). The cultural accompaniment of early paleoanthropes is archaic tools.
The subsequent group of Neanderthals is characterized by a reduction in the brow relief, a rounded occipital region, a rather convex forehead, and a smaller number of archaic features in the structure of the molars (the third molar is no larger than the first and second). The brain volume was 1200-1400 cm3.
The morphological type of late Neanderthals is characterized by: a highly developed superciliary region, a compressed occipital region from top to bottom, and a decrease in the size of the molars. The presence of an occipital ridge and a brow ridge are noted, which is due to the harsh conditions of the natural environment, the chin protuberance is slightly cut off, and a strong, massive physique. The volume of the brain cavity is 1350-1700 cm3.
The finds of paleoanthropes from Mount Carmel (Palestine) are exceptional in significance. They are distinguished by a mosaic of sapient and Neanderthal features. The dating of the finds is the end of the last interglacial. These finds can be interpreted as evidence of a connection, contact between early Neanderthals and modern humans in the Early Paleolithic. The brain volume of Carmelians is 1500 cm3.
A similar find, with an even more pronounced sapient character, was discovered in the Qafzeh cave (Israel).
The presence of a chin protrusion, although weakly expressed, indicates the development of speech; the volume of the brain cavity and the inner surface indicate the development of mental abilities and the visual analyzer. The speech apparatus of Neanderthals was not adapted for the entire range of speech sounds.
To summarize, it must be emphasized that in the period between the second and last interglacial (300-350 thousand years ago), parallel evolution took place at the Neanderthal stage, as in the previous stages. In all likelihood, three forms of hominids coexisted: Pithecanthropus, Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.
However, Homo sapiens was the first to reach the finish line.
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Homo sapiens sapiens → Archaic Homo sapiens → Chimpanzee → |
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Questions to prepare for the lecture.
Why did cannibalism flourish at the stage of archanthropes and paleanthropes?
What advances in anthropology support radial evolution in hominids?
What adaptations did man acquire at the stage of Pithecanthropus and Neanderthal?
The next stage in the evolution of hominids, paleoanthropes, is represented by the so-called Neanderthals(Homo neanderthalensis), whose species name is associated with the first discovery of fossil remains of these people in the Neanderthal Valley near Düsseldorf. Neanderthals, like archanthropes, were distributed throughout almost the entire territory of the Old World and were very diverse. They appeared on Earth about 300 thousand years ago (during the Mindelris interglacial) and existed until the first half of the Würm glaciation, that is, until about 35 thousand years ago.
Paleoanthropists have made enormous progress in increasing brain mass. The brain volume of Neanderthal men averaged about 1550 cm3, reaching 1600 cm3. The size of the brain achieved by Neanderthals did not increase further during subsequent evolution when they reached the neoanthrope stage, although restructuring of the brain structure occurred.
Despite the voluminous braincase, the Neanderthal skull still retained many primitive features: a sloping forehead, a low arch and the back of the head, a massive facial skeleton with a continuous supraorbital ridge, the chin protrusion was almost not pronounced, and large teeth were preserved. The body proportions of paleoanthropes were generally close to those of modern humans. Compared to archanthropes, paleoanthropes have improved the structure of the hand. The average height of Neanderthals was 151 - 155 cm. Paleoanthropes created the Middle Paleolithic culture. Neanderthals buried their dead with funeral rites, which suggests that they had fairly developed abstract thinking.
The main morphological transformations that occurred during the formation of neoanthropes are expressed in some structural changes in the brain and skull, especially in its facial part (relative reduction of the jaws, formation of a chin protrusion, reduction of the supraorbital ridge and postorbital narrowing, increase in the height of the cranial vault, etc.) .
Cro-Magnons were the creators of the Late Paleolithic culture, characterized by the high perfection of stone and bone processing. It was the Cro-Magnons who were the creators of cave paintings depicting the animals of the mammoth fauna, as well as the most ancient sculptural images and the first musical instruments. It can therefore be argued that with neoanthropes art arises.
Let us emphasize once again that each of the stages of human evolution we considered included large number variations - both in space (in different regions), and in time. The characteristic features of the next stage did not arise suddenly and all at once, but gradually developed in different populations, so to speak, “in the depths” of the previous stage of anthropogenesis. At the same time, various characteristics, in accordance with Osborn's rule, changed at their own pace, and different combinations of more progressive and archaic characteristics arose in different populations.
The neoanthropic stage corresponds to humans modern look- Homo sapiens (reasonable man). The oldest neoanthropes are traditionally called Cro-Magnons after the site of the first discovery of their fossil remains in the Cro-Magnon grotto, in the French province of Dordogne. Cro-Magnons already fully corresponded to the anthropological type of modern man, differing only in minor features (slightly less high cranial vault, more developed dental system, etc.). Cro-Magnons have been known since the middle Würm glaciation in the late Pleistocene about 38-40 thousand years ago. However, according to some data, the organization of neoanthropes began to form even earlier, and the most ancient neoanthropes could have existed as early as 40-50 thousand years ago.
The average volume of the cranial cavity in neoanthropes is 1500 cm3, i.e., as we have already noted, the increase in brain size stopped after reaching the paleoanthropus stage. Obviously, this volume of the brain turned out to be sufficient for all subsequent complication of higher nervous activity of man, right up to the present day. Moreover, the modern human brain, the volume of which does not exceed that of Neanderthals, according to physiologists, retains enormous resources of nerve cells, with the possibility of the emergence of an even greater number of nerve connections that remain unused throughout the individual’s life.
Homo sapiens(reasonable person). Oddly enough, the course of evolution from H.erectus to H.sapiens, i.e. to the modern human stage is as difficult to document satisfactorily as the original branching stage of the hominid lineage. However, in this case, the matter is complicated by the presence of several contenders for the desired intermediate position.
According to a number of anthropologists, the step that led directly to H.sapiens, was a Neanderthal ( Homo neanderthalensis, or, as is customary today, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis). Neanderthals appeared no later than 150 thousand years ago, and different types flourished until the period of c. 40–35 thousand years ago, marked by the undoubted presence of a well-formed H.sapiens (H.sapiens sapiens). This era corresponded to the onset of the Wurm glaciation in Europe, i.e. ice age closest to modern times. Other scientists do not connect the origin of modern humans with Neanderthals, pointing out, in particular, that the morphological structure of the latter’s face and skull was too primitive to have time to evolve to the forms H.sapiens.
Neanderthaloids are usually imagined as stocky, hairy, beast-like people with bent legs, with a protruding head on a short neck, giving the impression that they had not yet fully achieved upright walking. Paintings and reconstructions in clay usually emphasize their hairiness and unjustified primitiveness. This image of the Neanderthal is a big distortion. First, we don't know whether Neanderthals were hairy or not. Secondly, they were all completely upright. As for evidence of an inclined position of the body, it was probably obtained from the study of individuals suffering from arthritis.
One of the most surprising features of the entire Neanderthal series of finds is that the least modern of them were the most recent in appearance. This is the so-called the classic Neanderthal type, the skull of which is characterized by a low forehead, a heavy brow, a receding chin, a protruding mouth area, and a long, low cranium. However, their brain volume was larger than that of modern humans. They certainly had a culture: there is evidence of funerary cults and possibly animal cults, since animal bones are found along with the fossil remains of classical Neanderthals.
At one time it was believed that classical Neanderthals lived only in southern and western Europe, and their origin was associated with the advance of the glacier, which placed them in conditions of genetic isolation and climatic selection. However, today apparently similar forms have been found in some regions of Africa and the Middle East and, possibly, in Indonesia. Such a widespread distribution of the classical Neanderthal makes it necessary to abandon this theory.
At the moment, there is no material evidence of any gradual morphological transformation of the classical Neanderthal type into the modern type of man, with the exception of finds made in the Skhul cave in Israel. The skulls discovered in this cave differ significantly from each other, some of them having characteristics that place them in an intermediate position between the two human types. According to some experts, this is evidence of the evolutionary change from Neanderthal to modern humans, while others believe that this phenomenon is the result of mixed marriages between representatives of the two types of people, thereby believing that H.sapiens evolved independently. This explanation is supported by evidence that as early as 200–300 thousand years ago, i.e. before the appearance of the classical Neanderthal, there was a type of man that most likely belonged to the early H.sapiens, and not to the “progressive” Neanderthal. It's about about well-known finds - fragments of a skull found in Swansky (England), and a more complete skull from Steinheim (Germany).
The controversy regarding the “Neanderthal stage” in human evolution is partly due to the fact that two circumstances are not always taken into account. First, it is possible for the more primitive types of any evolving organism to exist in a relatively unchanged form at the same time that other branches of the same species undergo various evolutionary modifications. Secondly, migrations associated with shifts in climatic zones are possible. Such shifts were repeated in the Pleistocene as glaciers advanced and retreated, and humans could follow shifts in the climate zone. Thus, when considering long periods of time, it must be taken into account that the populations occupying a given area at a particular time are not necessarily the descendants of populations that lived there for a longer period. early period. It is possible that early H.sapiens could migrate from the regions where they appeared, and then return to their original places after many thousands of years, having undergone evolutionary changes. When fully formed H.sapiens appeared in Europe 35-40 thousand years ago, during the warmer period of the last glaciation, it undoubtedly displaced the classical Neanderthal, which occupied the same region for 100 thousand years. It is now impossible to accurately determine whether the Neanderthal population moved north, following the retreat of its usual climatic zone, or mixed with those who invaded its territory H.sapiens.
PALEOANTHROPES PALEOANTHROPES
(from paleo... and Greek anthropos - man), a generalized name for fossil people, who are considered as the second stage of human evolution, following the archanthropes and preceding the neoanthropes. Often P. is not entirely correctly called Neanderthals. Bone remains of P. are known from the middle and late Pleistocene of Europe, Asia and Africa. Geol. P.'s age is from the end of the Mindelris interglacial and almost to the middle of the Würm glaciation. Abs. age from 250 to 40 thousand years. In morphological In relation to P., it is a heterogeneous group. Along with primitive forms similar to archanthropes, among P. there are representatives close to neoanthropes. The Paleolithic culture is Middle and Late Acheulean and Mousterian (Early Paleolithic). We were engaged in ch. arr. hunting large animals (cave bear, woolly rhinoceros, etc.). Social organization is the “primitive human herd.” Although in general P. were the predecessors of modern. person, not all P. - directly. his ancestors. Many of them, due to specialization and other reasons, did not turn into modern humans. species and became extinct (for example, the “classical Neanderthals” of Western Europe). Others (for example, the Central Asian P.) followed the path of progressive evolution and gave rise to the fossil people of modern times. kind.
.(Source: “Biological Encyclopedic Dictionary.” Editor-in-chief M. S. Gilyarov; Editorial Board: A. A. Babaev, G. G. Vinberg, G. A. Zavarzin and others - 2nd ed., corrected . - M.: Sov. Encyclopedia, 1986.)
paleoanthropesGeneralized name for ancient fossil people. Paleoanthropes are often called incorrectly Neanderthals. who are only one of the groups of ancient people. In general, paleoanthropes are a group of people transitional from homo erectus (“Homo erectus”) to modern humans (“Homo sapiens”). These were people of diverse morphological structure, who combined primitive and progressive features to varying degrees. They lived during the Middle and partially Upper Pleistocene. There are 3 groups of paleoanthropes: early (atypical) European, antiquity 250-100 thousand years; Western Asian - “progressive”, antiquity 70-40 thousand years and classical (late) Western European Neanderthals, antiquity 50-35 thousand years.
The features of paleoanthropes were most clearly manifested in classical Neanderthals Western Europe, who lived in the harsh conditions of the last glaciation and had a pronounced specialization in the structure of the skull and skeleton. This and much more do not allow us to see the direct ancestors of modern humans in the late Western European paleoanthropes (Neanderthals). The most progressive (sapient) features were found in the Western Asian paleoanthropes from the Skhul and Tabun caves (Israel), occupying an intermediate position between Neanderthals and modern humans. Probably, more “progressive” groups of paleoanthropes had greater opportunities for development during evolution towards Homo sapiens (“Homo sapiens”).
Paleoanthropes hunted large animals ( cave bear, woolly rhinoceros etc.) and gathering, lived as a primitive human herd and created the Middle Paleolithic culture - Mousterian.
.(Source: “Biology. Modern illustrated encyclopedia.” Chief editor A. P. Gorkin; M.: Rosman, 2006.)
See what "PALEOAANTHROPES" are in other dictionaries:
Ancient people: . Neanderthal (Homo neandertalensis) and possibly: Homo heidelbergensis See also Neoanthropes people modern look. ... Wikipedia
- (from paleo... and Greek anthr,o pos man), the collective name of the ancient people of Africa, Europe and Asia who lived 300-30 thousand years ago. Represented mainly by Neanderthals... Modern encyclopedia
- (from paleo... and Greek antropos man) fossil people of the Paleolithic period (Pithecanthropus, Neanderthals, etc.) ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Paleoanthropes- (from paleo... and Greek anthr,o pos man), the collective name of the ancient people of Africa, Europe and Asia who lived 300-30 thousand years ago. Represented mainly by Neanderthals. ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
Ov; pl. (units paleoanthropus, a; m.). Anthrop. Fossil people of the Paleolithic period; Neanderthals. * * * paleoanthropes (from paleo... and Greek ántrōpos man), fossil people of the late Acheulian and Mousterian eras (see Neanderthals). Occupies an intermediate… … Encyclopedic Dictionary
Paleoanthropes- stage of hominid evolution, following the archanthropes and preceding the neoanthropes. They differ from archanthropes big brain, from neoanthropes with a sloping chin, an elongated skull shape and significant massiveness. European and some... ... Physical Anthropology. Illustrated explanatory dictionary.
- (from Paleo... and Greek anthropos man) a generalized (non-systematic) name for fossil people who lived in Asia, Africa and Europe 250-35 thousand years ago. Geologically, this corresponds to the time from the end of the Mindel Ris interglacial and... ... Big Soviet encyclopedia
- (from paleo... and Greek tntropos man), fossil people of the late Acheulian and Mousterian eras (see Neanderthals). They occupy an intermediate position between archanthropes and neoanthropes... Natural science. Encyclopedic Dictionary
- (paleo... gr. anthropos man) ancient people; the term is used in anthropology to refer to Neanderthals. New dictionary of foreign words. by EdwART, 2009 … Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
paleoanthropes- ov; pl. (units paleoa/anthrop, a; m.); anthrop. Fossil people of the Paleolithic period; Neanderthals... Dictionary of many expressions
Books
- Predecessors. Ancestors? Part 5. Paleoanthropes, S. V. Drobyshevsky. This work is a continuation brief overview the most important and best studied fossil hominid localities, outlining the main accompanying data from natural and...
According to the complexity of the structure of the brain, people’s behavior also became more complex. People improved the Acheulean stone processing technique, and from about 200 thousand years ago the Mousterian technique appeared - more advanced and economical.
Migrations of paleoanthropes
Paleoanthropes, like their ancestors, continued to migrate across the planet, however, settlement went mainly to the north along the already developed continents; they did not penetrate into Australia and America. What drove them to long-distance migrations? Or maybe movement on Earth was very, very slow and only in the long term does it look so fast? The motivating reasons for the migrations were, apparently, movement following the nomadic herds of ungulates, depletion of natural resources, and an increase in population. Finding themselves in new environmental conditions, people learned to cope with various natural difficulties. Apparently, the appearance of clothing dates back to this time, since the settlement of already very cold areas, including those with an Arctic climate, began; the lifetime of Moustier is the time of alternation ice ages and interglacial. Methods of building dwellings improved, people actively populated caves, driving out large predators - bears, lions and hyenas. The methods of hunting animals have noticeably improved, as evidenced by the numerous remains of bones at sites. European Neanderthals were, in fact, the main predators of their time.
Cannibalism
There is evidence of cannibalism among paleoanthropes. The oldest example of cannibalism is the incised bones of a teenager from the Gran Dolina cave in Spain, dating back to 780 thousand years ago. Skulls with broken bases, incised and burnt human bones in the caves of Sima de los Huesos in Spain, Krapina in Yugoslavia, Steinheim in Germany, Monte Circeo in Italy, Bodo in Ethiopia, Clasies River in South Africa and many other places indicate the dramatic events that took place here episodes of human prehistory. At Monte Circeo, a human skull with its base broken off lay in a circle of large stones, evidence of ritual cannibalism.
It was noted that the frontal lobe of Neanderthals, which is responsible for social behavior in modern humans, was relatively poorly developed. Perhaps this led to greater aggressiveness of Neanderthals. The progressive development of this area of the cerebral cortex occurred at a significant pace, paralleling the complication of behavior and structure primitive society. It is not known for sure whether Neanderthals had speech: the opinions of different scientists on this matter differ. If there was speech, then it was very different from modern speech, since the larynx of Neanderthals is not similar to the larynx of modern humans.
The emergence of art and rituals
Burial in the Teshik-Tash cave. On the left is a reconstruction of a Neanderthal child made by M.M. Gerasimov.
State Darwin Museum, Moscow.
Photo courtesy of the Darwin Museum.
The changes in the psyche of ancient people were important. Symbolic activity arose. Its first examples cannot even be called art: they are pits on stones, drawn stripes on limestone, bones and pieces of ocher. Some of the oldest examples are parallel incisions on the fibula of an elephant from Bilzingsleben (Germany) with an antiquity of 300-400 thousand years ago. and scratched parallel stripes and painted “arrows” or “men” on bone fragments at the Mikoko site of Oldisleben (Germany). However, such non-utilitarian activity indicates a significant complication of the mental processes of paleoanthropes. It is remarkable that the oldest traces of such symbolic activity are in greater numbers and in greater detail. expressive form found in Africa. About 80 thousand years ago, shell beads appeared in Northern, Southern and Eastern Africa (the oldest examples: Taforalt, Grotto de Pigeon (eastern Morocco) - 82 thousand years ago, Blombos Cave (South Africa) - 75-78 thousand years ago). BP) and ostrich egg shells (for example, from the Late Acheulian site of El Greif (Libya) and from the Enkapune and Muto and Mumba localities (Kenya) - 46-52 thousand years ago). In Blombos Cave (South Africa) in a “Middle Stone Age” layer dated 75-78 thousand years ago. Pieces of ocher with regular scratches and a simple cross-shaped ornament were found. Some pieces of ocher were rubbed onto sticks, which were then used to paint something. The oldest real drawing in the world was found at the “Middle Stone Age” site of Apollo 11 (Namibia): this is an image of a certain animal on a limestone plate. The drawing was previously dated to 26-28 thousand years ago, now it is dated to 59 thousand years ago.
In Europe and Asia, Neanderthals did not make any objects of art or jewelry; in this they differed sharply from the modern species of people. A typical version of Neanderthal “art” is parallel scratches on bones (Arcy-sur-Cure, Bachokiro, Molodova), pits on a stone slab (La Ferrassie). The very few Neanderthal decorations in the form of drilled animal teeth are known only from the latest sites in France, for example, in Arcy-sur-Cure and Kinkay about 30-34 thousand years ago, when Europe had already been inhabited by Cro-Magnons for many thousands of years. Another probable piece of Neanderthal art is a “mask” made from a piece of stone with a piece of bone inserted into a slot from La Roche-Cotard (France). The only example of a real drawing from a Mousterian site is an image of a leopard scratched on a bone found at the Pronyatin site (Ukraine) dating back to about 30-40 thousand years ago. - again during the existence of modern people in this territory. It is likely that later Neanderthals borrowed some cultural elements from the Cro-Magnons, but the gap between them is enormous. Much has been written about the “Neanderthal flute” from Divye Baba 1 (Slovenia) with a dating of 30-34 thousand years ago. - a piece of bone with even holes. However, analysis of the edges of the holes showed that these were marks of hyena teeth. Probably, the psychotype of Neanderthals was distinguished by a lack of imagination; consciousness was very specific and objective.
Archaeological evidence is significant ritual practice European Neanderthals. Yes, for Central Europe The so-called “cult of bear skulls” is known: in the caves of Switzerland, Germany, Yugoslavia (sites of Drachenloch, Peterschele, Veternice, Drakenscha Hole and others) caches with skulls of cave bears hidden there, sometimes numerous, have been discovered, which allows us to talk about rites of hunting magic. In the Caucasus, in the Azykh cave, 4 bear skulls were hidden in a similar cache; there are similar finds in Kudaro and other places. At the Ilskaya site, rituals were performed with bison skulls.
The most important evidence of the high level of psyche of Neanderthals are the first burials of the dead. The most primitive burial option is the dumping of human bones into a deep shaft in Sima de los Huesos in Atapuerca (Spain) around 325 thousand years ago. This is a variant of “hygienic burial”. It is interesting that along with the bones of people, only the bones of predators were thrown into the cave - Deninger bears (ancestors of cave bears), leopards, wolves and foxes, but there are not a single bone of herbivores. This speaks to the association of ancient people with predators. The oldest real burials date back to about 100 thousand years ago. It was probably at that time that the first ideas about the afterlife, although this can only be assumed. In some cases, burials have traces of certain rituals and are quite complex in arrangement. Thus, in the Teshik-Tash cave in Uzbekistan, a Neanderthal child was buried in a circle made of mountain goat horns. However, the burials of Neanderthals differ significantly from the burials of modern people in at least three aspects: the dead were always laid on their sides in a crouched position (the position of modern people varies greatly); Neanderthals never buried more than one individual in one burial (for modern people their number can be any); finally, Neanderthals never intentionally placed any things or animal bones with the deceased; they did not have the concept of grave goods (modern people may not have it either, but very often the most various items). There are exceptions only in the Middle East in the caves of Skhul and Qafzeh, where burials with an antiquity of about 100 thousand years contain skeletons of people combining the characteristics of Neanderthals and modern people. Quite often, Neanderthals buried many dead in one cave, and the graves were located in a certain order, so that the Neanderthals knew and remembered the places of previous burials; A classic example is the La Ferrassie cave in France.
Social relationships among paleoanthropes compared to archanthropes have become noticeably more complicated. In addition to the indicated evidence of cannibalism and burials of the dead, this also includes caring for the sick. In the Shanidar cave in Iraq, the skeleton of an old man was discovered who suffered from a whole range of serious illnesses. He could not move independently and obtain food for himself, but he reached a very old age by Neanderthal standards - his age is estimated at 40 years. Obviously, this old man was fed by his relatives, looked after, and buried after death. By the way, in another burial from the same cave, an unusually high concentration of pollen from mountain flowers was discovered - the grave was filled with them - and of the eight species, six flowers are classified as medicinal plants, and two are edible. The skeleton of an old man suffering from severe arthritis was found in La Chapelle-aux-Saints in France; the burial took place in the center of a small cave in which people had never lived, that is, the cave was used once only as a burial place.
