THE OLDEST PAINTINGS EVER FOUND ON EARTH WERE NOT MADE BY HUMANS -- RESEARCH

[Judi Lynn]

PAUL PETTITT AND THE CONVERSATION
17 HOURS AGO

Neanderthals were producing non-figurative art tens of millennia before the arrival of Homo sapiens in Europe.

ONE OF THE most hotly debated questions in the history of Neanderthal research has been whether they created art. In the past few years, the consensus has become that they did, sometimes. But, like their relations at either end of the hominoid evolutionary tree, chimpanzees and Homo sapiens, Neanderthals’ behavior varied culturally from group to group and over time.

Their art was perhaps more abstract than the stereotypical figure and animal cave paintings Homo sapiens made after the Neanderthals disappeared about 30,000 years ago. But archaeologists are beginning to appreciate how creative Neanderthal art was in its own right.

Homo sapiens are thought to have evolved in Africa at least 315,000 years ago. Neanderthal populations in Europe have been traced back at least 400,000 years.

As early as 250,000 years ago, Neanderthals were mixing minerals such as haematite (ochre) and manganese with fluids to make red and black paints — presumably to decorate the body and clothing.

More:
https://www.inverse.com/science/oldest-art

[Aussie105]

1. So . . . Neanderthals were not human?

Most of us carry Neanderthal genes in our genome.

A lot of members of the Homo genus existed long ago. One group, Homo sapiens, were the most successful.

The other groups didn't die out, they were amalgamated into Homo sapiens.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. I had the same thought. . . . nt

[billh58]

4. Are Neanderthals classified as humans?

Yes. Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) were archaic humans who emerged at least 200,000 years ago and died out perhaps between 35,000 and 24,000 years ago. They manufactured and used tools (including blades, awls, and sharpening instruments), developed a spoken language, and developed a rich culture that involved hearth construction, traditional medicine, and the burial of their dead. Neanderthals also created art; evidence shows that some painted with naturally occurring pigments. In the end, Neanderthals were likely replaced by modern humans (H. sapiens), but not before some members of these species bred with one another where their ranges overlapped.

https://www.britannica.com/question/Are-Neanderthals-classified-as-humans

[ShazzieB]

5. I thought the Neanderthals were human.

They were homo sapiens neanderthalensis, and we're homo sapiens sapiens; two different subspecies of homo sapiens, and therefore all human.

[wnylib]

11. Sapiens, Neanderthal, Denisovan, and

Heidelbergensis all descend from Homo erectus. We have a common ancestor and are referred to as hominids or as hominins, indicating that all these groups are closer to humans than to our much older relatives like australopithicines who did not even walk upright.

There are disagreements among scientists about whether or not Neanderthal should be called Sapiens. Neanderthal and Denisovan were very closely related. Denisovan is considered an offshoot of Neanderthal, so if Neanderthal is Homo sapiens, so is Denisovan.

Here's an article about it.

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/are-neanderthals-same-species-as-us.html

[ShazzieB]

13. Ah, thanks!

I took anthropology decades ago, and there have been so many new discoveries and developments that I haven't kept up with. This is going to be a big help!

[wnylib]

14. My anthro classes were years ago, too, but

I have followed devopments in two of my greatest areas of interest, human evolution and the first people in the Americas, followed by language families and the cultural-linguistic groups of people associated with them.

I would have majored in anthro if I had started my studies earlier in life. Since I started them later, I majored in a modern foreign language and minored in anthro, but anthropology still intrigues me.

[Marcuse]

15. Hmm.

[2naSalit]

7. +1

[wnylib]

10. That's my take on it, too.

[BWdem4life]

12. The clickbait is strong with this one. nt

[Tetrachloride]

3. The original headline at Inverse.com should say "... by Neaderthals"

Otherwise it’s clickbait

[ShazzieB]

6. True.

[twodogsbarking]

8. Studies have shown they became extinct because they didn't vote.

See?

[stopdiggin]

9. glad to see so many quickly on the correction.

We are learning!

[AresM]

16. Homo-neanderthalensis were in fact human

The headline doesn't work. It is incorrect. Homo means hominid and that means human. Homo-sapiens means "Wise Human". The first major neanderthal find was in Neander Valley in Germany. Tal is the german word for Valley. So Homo-neanderthalensis means "Human from Neander Valley".

The headline should be changed to match the one written by the original author Paul Pettitt or should be reworded to say, "...were not made by 'modern' humans".

[gopiscrap]

17. welcome to DU