Pamela Franks, age 10, of Springfield, Oregon, for her question:
Who were the Neanderthals?
Paleontologists who study fossil records of the past have discovered remains of several very ancient types of man. For one reason or another, these early members of the human family were unable to survive into modern times. The old timers known as the Neanderthal people may be listed among these casualties.
The word "caveman" tends to make us think of a rather brutish character who lived long before the dawn of civilized history. We imagine him as a squat, burly fellow, shaggy and dirty and sparsely clothed. His tools and weapons were rough hewn stone and his only home was a cave. It seems logical to suppose that he was a rather stupid fighter with none of the sensitive kindness and consideration we attribute to civilized people. Some parts of this popular picture may indeed be correct, but recent dis¬coveries have led archeologists to re evaluate the ancient cavemen and upgrade their opinions of them.
During the Old Stone Age of human history, our earth was inhabited by several races of ,early men. One of the most fabulous was the Neanderthal people whose . fossilized remains were found first in the Neander Valley of Germany and later in many parts of Europe and Asia. The first bones were unearthed from a limestone cave by Johann Fuhlrott, a school teacher interested in archeology. He was sure they belonged to an ancient race of men, but this was way back in the 1850's and the experts of the day refused to accept such a notion. Later finds of similar skeletons, however, proved Fuhlrott to be quite correct and the ancient race was named for the Valley where he made his discovery.
The fossiled bones of men, women and children show that the Neanderthals were short and stocky with thick, heavy limbs. Their necks were tipped forward and they probably walked with a stoop. They had thick, wide skulls with receding chins, low foreheads and beetlebrows over deep eye sockets. In spite of these low beetlebrows, their brains were as large as ours and possibly as active. Later discoveries re¬vealed that Neanderthal man lived between 110,000 and 30,000 years ago. In Central Europe he faced and coped with phases of the cruel Ice Ages. Not many of us could equal such fortitude.
Neanderthal families lived in caves, hunted and perhaps fought with handmade implements of stone. They used fires to warm themselves and perhaps to cook. Possibly they used a few metals. Anew light was shed on the Neanderthal character when a skeleton was found buried with tender care. Skins and stone implements were placed near the body and apparently the face of the loved one had been painted with pinkish clay. Neanderthal man was indeed a tough character but he had the sense to cope with bitter hardships and the sensitivity to show tender regret for his departed kinfolk and just possibly he might have hoped for a life after death.
Some anthropologists think that the Neanderthals may have mingled with races more like ourselves. Others are certain that their race perished forever from the earth. Why they perished is a mystery. A recent theory suggests that the Neanderthals wore too many furs and skins. Although it would keep them warn,, such heavy clothing would also shut out ultraviolet rays needed to keep them healthy. Some of their remains reveal the type of bone malnutrition that often results from a deficiency of sunshine.