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Could the first Maltese have been Neanderthals?
The Times of Malta ^ | June 19, 2016 | Ivan Martin

Posted on 06/19/2016 7:15:34 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Maltese prehistory may have just been extended by 30,000 years.

The verdict of experts from the London Natural History Museum has revived the theory that a tooth discovered in Għar Dalam in 1917 may prove Neanderthals once roamed the island.

The claim is not new. It was made in the 1920s by two British anthropologists, but four decades later the theory no longer had credence.

“Anyone who wrote a history book from 1964 till today will say there were never any Neanderthals on Malta. According to them, the first people to come here were Sicilian farmers around 7,000 years ago,” said Anton Mifsud, a retired pediatrician and avid archaeology buff.

“Well, the presence of Neanderthals pushes that back some 30,000 years. It’s a complete game changer,” he told the Sunday Times of Malta yesterday. Dr Mifsud believes features recently identified as being “exclusively Neanderthal” by international experts are present in at least one molar found during the dig in Għar Dalam in 1917.

With their distinctly receding forehead and prominent brow, Neanderthals are our closest extinct human relatives, dating as far back as 300,000 years ago.

In a recently published book entitled Dossier Malta – Neanderthal Dr Mifsud lays out his study of the crowns of these teeth using the same principles adopted by world leaders in the field of geometric morphometrics – the quantitative analysis of shapes and sizes in nature....

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


TOPICS: History; Local News; Science
KEYWORDS: antonmifsud; archaeology; godsgravesglyphs; malta; maltese; neandertal; neandertals; neanderthal; neanderthals
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1 posted on 06/19/2016 7:15:34 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
You're thinking the eyebrows, Vet?

Harsh cosmetically, accurate genetically.

2 posted on 06/19/2016 7:17:08 PM PDT by Byron_the_Aussie (We cannot allow Hillary Clinton to become the next Angela Merkel)
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To: Byron_the_Aussie

But what about their falcons?


3 posted on 06/19/2016 7:18:26 PM PDT by Paladin2 (auto spelchk? BWAhaha2haaa.....I aint't likely fixin' nuttin'. Blame it on the Bossa Nova...)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Will the neanderthals or the Maltese be the most insulted?

;)


4 posted on 06/19/2016 7:18:44 PM PDT by dynachrome (When an empire dies, you are left with vast monuments in front of which peasants squat to defecate)
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To: Byron_the_Aussie

I’ll have the roast duck with the mango salsa.


5 posted on 06/19/2016 7:19:48 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You cannot invade the mainland US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: dynachrome

There is that.


6 posted on 06/19/2016 7:20:17 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You cannot invade the mainland US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

'Say what?'

7 posted on 06/19/2016 7:25:36 PM PDT by Ken H (Best election ever!)
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To: SunkenCiv

Oooh, ibtp!


8 posted on 06/19/2016 7:29:07 PM PDT by To Hell With Poverty (Paisley Park is in my heart.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Let's wash it down with a '57 Margaux:


9 posted on 06/19/2016 7:30:25 PM PDT by Byron_the_Aussie (We cannot allow Hillary Clinton to become the next Angela Merkel)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Most honorable 2ndDivision One. Please prove to me there is any history beyond 10,000 years, and that is being generous. History is only valid unless it is written, something we can see, all else is simply presumptuous and frivolous nonsense. Ask that sunkincivilization guy, a laughable joke pretending to be erudite.


10 posted on 06/19/2016 7:38:05 PM PDT by Fungi
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I saw a TV show about odd human skeletons on Malta.

I can’t remember anything about it except they were clearly not like normal ones.


11 posted on 06/19/2016 7:49:16 PM PDT by yarddog (Romans 8:38-39, For I am persuaded.)
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To: Fungi

Various attributes about the Earth have History well beyond 10,000 Erf Years. Apparently Peeps have some history that may be gleaned beyond the preserved written record. Monkeys have history too. Maybe you are thinking of Herstory or Ziestory....


12 posted on 06/19/2016 7:53:40 PM PDT by Paladin2 (auto spelchk? BWAhaha2haaa.....I aint't likely fixin' nuttin'. Blame it on the Bossa Nova...)
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To: Paladin2

Could you name a few?


13 posted on 06/19/2016 7:56:10 PM PDT by Fungi
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To: Paladin2

“Monkeys have history.” How would we know? Are you a “monkey history” expert? And how long does that “monkey history” go back? Did those monkeys speak to you?


14 posted on 06/19/2016 7:59:52 PM PDT by Fungi
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To: Fungi

For the Erf we have magnetic field orientation.


15 posted on 06/19/2016 7:59:57 PM PDT by Paladin2 (auto spelchk? BWAhaha2haaa.....I aint't likely fixin' nuttin'. Blame it on the Bossa Nova...)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
The Neanderthals once roamed the island? Malta consists of more than one island.

Did the Neanderthals on Malta dream of falcons?

16 posted on 06/19/2016 8:00:20 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: Fungi

For many attributes of various Erf things, the history is not in a written language. I believe History includes non language data.


17 posted on 06/19/2016 8:01:40 PM PDT by Paladin2 (auto spelchk? BWAhaha2haaa.....I aint't likely fixin' nuttin'. Blame it on the Bossa Nova...)
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To: Verginius Rufus

They dreamed of Brigid O’Shaughnessy ......


18 posted on 06/19/2016 8:03:44 PM PDT by Paladin2 (auto spelchk? BWAhaha2haaa.....I aint't likely fixin' nuttin'. Blame it on the Bossa Nova...)
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To: Paladin2
I have seen it. It is resplendent with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, only for Glomus species though. Be careful you don't get caught up with fake fungi.
19 posted on 06/19/2016 8:06:10 PM PDT by Fungi
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To: Fungi

Then what is your problem beyond some word definitional myopia?


20 posted on 06/19/2016 8:10:27 PM PDT by Paladin2 (auto spelchk? BWAhaha2haaa.....I aint't likely fixin' nuttin'. Blame it on the Bossa Nova...)
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