Neanderthals spent a surprising amount of time underwater

[Judi Lynn]

HUMANS 14 August 2019

Bony growths found in Neanderthals’ ears suggest that aquatic foraging was a big part of their lifestyle. This adds to evidence that Neanderthals adapted to life in several landscapes, including those near water.

Erik Trinkaus at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, and his colleagues investigated the well-preserved ear remains of 77 ancient humans that lived in western Eurasia in the mid-to-late Pleistocene period.

They looked for dense, bony growths in the ear canals known as external auditory exostoses. These are often found in modern surfers and others who spend time in cold, wet and windy conditions, leading to the condition’s other name, “surfer’s ear”.

Trinkaus and his colleagues were surprised to find that around half of the 23 Neanderthals they studied had signs of these growths, which is at least twice as prevalent as in any of the other groups of ancient humans the team studied. This suggests that Neanderthals foraged in water for food and other resources – something that hasn’t been obvious from other archaeological evidence.

Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2213407-neanderthals-spent-a-surprising-amount-of-time-underwater/#ixzz5we6o3PFP

[BigmanPigman]

1. Interesting.

I always learn something new on this site. Thanks!

[Quemado]

2. Aquatic ape hypothesis

The aquatic ape hypothesis (AAH), also referred to as aquatic ape theory (AAT) and more recently the waterside model, is the idea that certain ancestors of modern humans were more aquatic than other great apes and even many modern humans, and, as such, were habitual waders, swimmers and divers. The hypothesis in its present form was proposed by the marine biologist Alister Hardy in 1960, who argued that a branch of apes was forced by competition over terrestrial habitats to hunt for food such as shellfish on the sea shore and sea bed leading to adaptations that explained distinctive characteristics of modern humans such as functional hairlessness and bipedalism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquatic_ape_hypothesis

[mopinko]

5. yeah, how we lost those fur coats is my favorite evolutionary puzzle.

my personal theory is that recreational sex was a big leap for the human animal, and was such a powerful force that we lost our fur coats.
i mean, the evolution would dictate that you dont lose a trait as useful as that w/o some benefit.

i contend that living in tribes was complex, and non-reproductive sex smoothed the way. look at the bonobos.

this doesnt particularly advance the aquatic ape theory, imho. the neanderthal genome is not very well represented in modern humans. but we are all hairless to one degree or another.

[IndyOp]

3. Or they surfed, right?

Tongue-in-cheek comment, but not entirely - they probably had more time in their lives for recreation than we do. 😀

[brewens]

4. I wouldn't be at all surprised that they came close to surfing. They may have had some kind

of rafts they built to help harvest shellfish. Maybe split small logs to make like paddle boards to get around in the shallows.

[HeartlandProgressive]

6. good points

Woodworking skills were probably more advanced than people suspect