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Most Neanderthals Were Right-Handed Like Us
Live Science ^ | 8-24-2012 | Megan Gannon

Posted on 08/26/2012 9:13:15 AM PDT by Renfield

Right-handed humans vastly outnumber lefties by a ratio of about nine to one, and the same may have been true for Neanderthals. Researchers say right-hand dominance in the extinct species suggests that, like humans, they also had the capacity for language.

A new analysis of the skeleton of a 20-something Neanderthal man confirms that he was a righty like most of his European caveman cousins whose remains have been studied by scientists (16 of 18 specimens). Dubbed "Regourdou," the skeleton was discovered in 1957 in France, not far from the famous network of caves at Lascaux....

(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science
KEYWORDS: godsgravesglyphs; neandertal; neandertals; neanderthal; neanderthals; paleoanthropology
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If Neanderthals were indeed right-handed, that "confirms a modern pattern of left brain dominance, presumably [signalling] linguistic competence," the researchers write in their paper published online Aug. 22 in the journal PLoS ONE. (In humans, the left side of the brain plays a primary role in language.)

"The long-known connection between brain asymmetry, handedness and language in living populations serves as a proxy for estimating brain lateralization in the fossil record and the likelihood of language capacity in fossils," the researchers, led by Virginie Volpato of the Senckenberg Institute in Frankfurt, Germany, write.

1 posted on 08/26/2012 9:13:22 AM PDT by Renfield
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To: SunkenCiv

Ping


2 posted on 08/26/2012 9:13:54 AM PDT by Renfield (Turning apples into venison since 1999!)
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To: Renfield
Right-handed humans vastly outnumber lefties by a ratio of about nine to one

But lefties are smarter, funnier, and much better looking.
3 posted on 08/26/2012 9:17:27 AM PDT by andyk (Go Juan Pablo!)
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To: Renfield

I’m not prejudiced against left-handed people, but I honestly don’t understand why we don’t actively teach kids to write with their right hand. Any time I see someone writing with their left hand it looks so ridiculous.


4 posted on 08/26/2012 9:18:02 AM PDT by GunRunner (***Not associated with any criminal actions anonymus by the ATF***)
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To: andyk
don't forget gayer....definitely gayer !

<...waiting for the outrage to build....>

that's a joke !

5 posted on 08/26/2012 9:21:01 AM PDT by Reily
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To: GunRunner
I’m not prejudiced against left-handed people, but I honestly don’t understand why we don’t actively teach kids to write with their right hand. Any time I see someone writing with their left hand it looks so ridiculous

Your sarc is dry and funny....either that, or you went to the Todd Akins school of logic and human reproduction.

6 posted on 08/26/2012 9:22:42 AM PDT by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: Renfield

Maybe lefties are preparing for our eventual Arab or Chinese overlords. Writing with your left hand in a Western country makes as much sense as walking backwards, but is a distinct advantage if you’re writing in Arabic or Chinese.


7 posted on 08/26/2012 9:24:45 AM PDT by GunRunner (***Not associated with any criminal actions anonymus by the ATF***)
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To: Vaquero

So it’s logical to write with your left hand? Please elaborate.


8 posted on 08/26/2012 9:26:09 AM PDT by GunRunner (***Not associated with any criminal actions anonymus by the ATF***)
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To: GunRunner

Yeah I remember when my first grade teacher turned me into a righty with a ruler across the knuckles. I still throw and shoot left-handed.


9 posted on 08/26/2012 9:26:39 AM PDT by Starstruck (It's all Obama's fault)
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To: Renfield
So this proves what??

Here's how it went: They lined up all 18 corpses and tossed a ball to each.....One swatted it, one ate it, one gave it to his wife, one fed it to his jack ass, one buried it, one traded it for beans, one brought it to school for show and tell, one cooked it with spaghetti, one used it for an earring, one said "wheel", one said "fuutball", one said "head"...one said "Are these guys stupid?" and they all went back to their watering hole.

10 posted on 08/26/2012 9:30:03 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: andyk

:>)
11 posted on 08/26/2012 9:31:36 AM PDT by libertarian27 (Check my profile page for the FReeper Online Cookbook 2011)
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To: Renfield
Wow, and I bet they had two eyeballs.
12 posted on 08/26/2012 9:33:29 AM PDT by MaxMax
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To: Renfield
If Neanderthals were indeed right-handed

That's funny; I consider most right-handed people to be Neanderthals. Including people who make remarks about, "why don't we teach (force) all children to write right-handed?"

13 posted on 08/26/2012 9:34:34 AM PDT by Bernard ("He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else' - Benjamin Franklin)
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To: libertarian27

14 posted on 08/26/2012 9:36:54 AM PDT by libertarian27 (Check my profile page for the FReeper Online Cookbook 2011)
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To: Sacajaweau
Here's how it went: They lined up all 18 corpses
old joke...they're dead, jim (& i didn't scroll dn.)...
and yes, I'm a southpaw...(left-hand)
...got a problem w/ that? :-)

15 posted on 08/26/2012 9:44:07 AM PDT by skinkinthegrass (WA DC E$tabli$hment; DNC/RNC/Unionists...Brazilian saying: "$@me Old $hit; w/ different flie$" :^)
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To: Starstruck

Nothing wrong with shooting, throwing, batting, or fencing left handed, but writing with your left hand makes absolutely no sense since you can’t see what you’re writing. Just seems like common sense to me.


16 posted on 08/26/2012 9:46:28 AM PDT by GunRunner (***Not associated with any criminal actions anonymus by the ATF***)
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I am somewhat left handed. I cannot write at all with my left hand, as I do not seem to have fine control for writing or drawing with it. However, I throw left handed as I have good control and power, but I punch right handed as I do not have control or power to punch with my left hand (different muscle groups I guess). As far as all other mundane tasks (such as eating), I use either hand interchangeably.


17 posted on 08/26/2012 9:54:35 AM PDT by dsrtsage (One half of all people have below average IQ. In the US the number is 54%)
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Oh yeah, I throw left handed, but bat right handed, but golf left handed, and bowl right handed


18 posted on 08/26/2012 9:56:38 AM PDT by dsrtsage (One half of all people have below average IQ. In the US the number is 54%)
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To: Renfield
I would give my right arm to be ambidextrous.
19 posted on 08/26/2012 10:16:18 AM PDT by edpc (Wilby 2012)
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To: Renfield

And 46% were Republican, 36% Democratic, and 18% Independent


20 posted on 08/26/2012 10:16:29 AM PDT by daniel1212 (Come to the Lord Jesus as a damned+destitute actual sinner, + trust Him to save you, then live 4 Him)
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