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Originally Posted by Moontanman
Thanks for the post dude, Neanderthals fascinate me, it's interesting that Humans and Neanderthals first encountered each other in what is now known as Palestine. The old testament even mentions a rivalry between two different types of people (brothers) one hairy and one not, one was a hunter and the other was a farmer that occurred due to wanting the blessing of the patriarch of a family. Just a biblical point of view that occurred to me back in my youth......
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I haven't read about neandertahl and man meeting before. Was there any evidence indicating that our (closer)ancestors killed/fought them?
One of the more interesting things about Neanderthal to me is their burial practices:
Shanidar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Of all the skeletons found at the cave, it is Shanidar IV which provides the best evidence for Neanderthal burial ritual. The skeleton of an adult male aged between 30-45 years was discovered in 1960 by Ralph Solecki and was positioned so that he was lying on his left side in a partial fetal position. Routine soil samples which were gathered for pollen analysis in an attempt to reconstruct the palaeoclimate and vegetational history of the site from around the body were analysed eight years after its discovery. In two of the soil samples in particular, whole clumps of pollen were discovered in addition to the usual pollen found throughout the site and suggested that entire flowering plants (or at least heads of plants) had entered the grave deposit. Furthermore, a study of the particular flower types suggested that the flowers may have been chosen for their specific medicinal properties. Yarrow, Cornflower, Bachelor’s Button, St. Barnaby’s Thistle, Ragwort or Groundsel, Grape Hyacinth, Joint Pine or Woody Horsetail and Hollyhock were represented in the pollen samples, all of which have long-known curative powers as diuretics, stimulants, astringents as well as anti-inflammatory properties.
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There have been some valid skeptical objections(discussed in the article), but it sure is interesting to imagine that this may be nascent religious practices.
Neanderthals are also known to bury their dead with tools, bones of game animals, and certain natural pigments.
Another cool topic pertaining to ritual behavior in Neanderthal is the evidence for ritual cannibalism/defleshing:
Neanderthal - Cannibalism or ritual defleshing? - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Intentional burial and the inclusion of grave goods are the most typical representations of ritual behavior in the Neanderthals and denote a developing ideology. However, another much debated and controversial manifestation of this ritual treatment of the dead comes from the evidence of cut-marks on the bone which has 'historically been viewed' as evidence of ritual defleshing.
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The wiki article is kind of vague here, but the evidence seems to point to ritual burial in the above case, imo.
