WEBVTT - How Were Neanderthals Smarter Than We Think?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren bog obam here. No matter how much evidence we

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<v Speaker 1>have to the contrary, Homo sapiens think ourselves very civilized.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, we often talk about the other human species

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<v Speaker 1>that used to share this planet as if they were

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<v Speaker 1>as far removed from us as armadillos or penguins. But Neanderthals,

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<v Speaker 1>for instance, did a lot of the same things as

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<v Speaker 1>their modern human contemporaries. They could laugh. Plus they made jewelry, string, glue,

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<v Speaker 1>and art. Have you ever tried to make string? It's

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<v Speaker 1>actually a bit tricky. You twist two or more bits

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<v Speaker 1>of fiber together while at the same time twisting the

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<v Speaker 1>individual strands in opposite directions so that the fibers locked together.

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<v Speaker 1>It requires incredible fine motor skills and some basic mathematical understanding,

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<v Speaker 1>plus a pensiont for civil engineering and Acording to a

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<v Speaker 1>study published in the April edition of the journal Scientific Reports,

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<v Speaker 1>Neanderthals checked all these boxes. The researchers discovered a fragment

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<v Speaker 1>of cordage, probably between forty one thousand and fifty two

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<v Speaker 1>thousand years old, and just the width of a child's

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<v Speaker 1>pinky fingernail at an archaeological site in France. The fragment

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<v Speaker 1>consists of three bundles of fiber twisted together but probably

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<v Speaker 1>made from the inner bark of an evergreen tree. The

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<v Speaker 1>string was found stuck to a small stone tool and

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<v Speaker 1>could possibly have served as a handle for the tool,

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<v Speaker 1>or it could have been part of the string bag

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<v Speaker 1>that held it. According to the study, the techniques used

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<v Speaker 1>to make this fragment of string suggest quote much larger

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<v Speaker 1>fiber technology, which means they could have been making clothes,

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<v Speaker 1>rope mats, and nets prior to this discovery. The oldest

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<v Speaker 1>fiber fragments ever discovered were found in modern day Israel,

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<v Speaker 1>probably made around nineteen thousand years ago. And beyond all that,

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<v Speaker 1>a study published in the December twenty issue of the

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<v Speaker 1>journal Scientific Reports finds that Neanderthal's almost certainly buried their dead.

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<v Speaker 1>For more than a century. Archaeologists have been unearthing buried

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<v Speaker 1>skeletons of Neanderthals in Europe and parts of Asia, but

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<v Speaker 1>many of them were excavated using techniques that would make

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<v Speaker 1>a modern archaeologist wins, and given the way they were exhumed,

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<v Speaker 1>it's been exceptionally difficult to tell whether the burials were intentional,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's been assumed by some researchers that Neanderthals weren't

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<v Speaker 1>smart enough to engage in symbolic behavior such as honoring

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<v Speaker 1>their dead with a burial. But a multidisciplinary team of

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<v Speaker 1>researchers from France, Germany, and Spain reopened the case of

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<v Speaker 1>a forty one thousand year old skeleton of a two

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<v Speaker 1>year old child unearthed between nineteen seventy and nineteen seventy

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<v Speaker 1>three in a cave in southwestern France. The team re

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<v Speaker 1>excavated the site where the child was found and reviewed

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<v Speaker 1>the notes from the original dig. The researchers found the

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<v Speaker 1>bones to be relatively unscattered, meaning animals likely hadn't messed

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<v Speaker 1>with the body, and they didn't seem to have been

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<v Speaker 1>weathered by the elements, which suggests rapid burial after death.

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<v Speaker 1>In addition, the bones seemed to have been placed intentionally,

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<v Speaker 1>with the head pointing east and uphill of the other bones,

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<v Speaker 1>even though the incline of the hill sloped west. This

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<v Speaker 1>study indicates that the child was intentionally deposited in the

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<v Speaker 1>ground not long after death, and because the dating of

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<v Speaker 1>the bones indicates the Toddler died not long before Neanderthals

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<v Speaker 1>winked out of existence. This discovery brings up questions about

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<v Speaker 1>when Neanderthals adopted funerary practice and how widely it spread

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<v Speaker 1>before their extinction. Today's episode was written by Jesselyn Shields

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<v Speaker 1>and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this months

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<v Speaker 1>of other topics, visit how stuffworks dot com. Brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>is production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts my

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