A Glimpse into Neanderthal Culture

Paper Summary:

When people think of the Humanoid genus, Homo Sapiens neanderthalensis (HSN), they picture a very primitive creature, simplistic in nature, with few social complexities.This paper explains that, upon close examination of several Neanderthan archaeological sites, one will find the Neanderthal man had all of the necessary elements for the beginning of the formation of modern society. It was once thought that these elements were only present in Neanderthan culture after contact with Home Sapiens sapiens (HSS). However, evidence now exists that suggests that Neanderthals were already well on their way to developing a formal, but rudimentary, culture well before contact with HSS. This research examines these findings using evidence gathered from the Petralona, Larga Velhol, St. Cesaire, Shanidar, and Arago sites. This research supports the thesis that Neanderthals had the beginnings of an advanced society prior to contact with Home Sapiens sapiens and that the disappearance of the Neanderthan culture was a result of the intermixing of HSN species with HSS species.

From the Paper:

"The use of language by Neanderthal man has been as issue of contention since the first discoveries of the culture. Some archeologists paint the picture of Neanderthal man as a highly advanced mammal with little or no language capability. However, this is inconsistent with other findings. One of the keys to deciphering these arguments is to be careful in the definition of language. There are many aspects to the term "language." One might consider language to consist of a series of non-verbal cues and sounds that to modern man would not seem like a language, as we know it today. The silver-backed gorilla and chimpanzee have been found to have an advanced language of this type and have even been able to learn out language by way of sign language in some cases. Neanderthal man was more advanced in other areas than these other primates in tool usage and manufacture, and other areas of advanced culture. It would stand to reason then, that they had a language, at least as advanced as that of the more advanced primates of today. Perhaps the language of today's advanced primates is more complex than we are aware and it is simply a case of us not being able to understand or to pick up on subtleties known only to native speakers. Let us now examine the evidence."

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