Neanderthals Matured Faster Than Modern Man -Study

Science - Reuters ^ | 2004-04-28 | Patricia Reaney

[Junior]

Thanks for the three links. This is an ongoing debate and the article I posted today is the "latest word" on the subject.

[PISANO]

My Father was an immigrant from Sicily, (not a Neanderthal) when he was 14 (oldest son) his father died. He was the head of the family and had to help his mother raise 5 other children. He went to work and did so. Mind you there was NO welfare, NO Social Security only Churches and charity and as a Sicilian he was not thought of very HIGHLY in that day and age.

My point is that we as a society have back slid and today some 35 year olds are much less mature than my generation was at 17. Devolution anyone?

[jimt]

How do you tell how old their fully developed teeth are ?

Age rings like a tree ?

[Theo]

Actually, yes, they are Homo sapiens. They've been recognized as such since the 60s. Recently, however, some people have been arguing again that Neanderthals are not Homo sapiens....

[Junior]

You know, I don't know. I know that "bone rings" can be used to determine the age of some species. Maybe this is something like that.

[Junior]

Not necessarily. The species has changed designation from Homo Neanderthalensis to Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis and back several times as new evidence came in. Right now it's in the Homo Neanderthalensis category.

[em2vn]

"......and a lot of the creationist mythology surrounding the species stems from this."
Pleases explain more about the creationist mythology surrounding the Neanderthals.
How does it differ from the evolutionist mythology surrounding the beginning of human life?

[Junior]

This is AP's take on the same story:

If you think your kids grow up fast, consider this: A new study suggests that Neanderthal children blazed through adolescence and on average reached adulthood at age 15.

The finding bolsters the view that Neanderthals were a unique species separate from modern humans, since the time for humans to mature to adulthood grew longer over the course of their evolution, said paleontologist Fernando V. Ramirez Rozzi, who led the study.

Rozzi, with the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, based his study on analysis of Neanderthal teeth. It will be published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.

If Neanderthals and prehistoric Europeans could be seen side by side some 35,000 years ago, "the Neanderthals would be bigger," Rozzi said. "Probably human children of about 5 years old would play with Neanderthals that were 3 years old."

"It's a very exciting paper," said anthropologist Katerina Harvati of New York University. "Our current understanding of Neanderthals is that they're brutish and stupid, even though it turns out they have larger brains on average than ourselves.

"Now, this work actually supports the idea that ... they were dealing with the world in fundamentally different ways."

For more than 100,000 years, Neanderthals roamed across a vast region from Spain to southern Russia and western Asia, overlapping with anatomically modern man for several thousand years. Scientists disagree about how much interbreeding occurred between the groups and whether Neanderthals passed on any of their traits before they vanished some 30,000 years ago.

Harvati said their quick maturation rate may have been an adaptation to a harsh environment that decreased their life span and made it important for youngsters to reach sexual maturity quickly.

For his study, Rozzi spent about 18 months examining growth patterns on the crowns of incisors and canines from 55 individual Neanderthals, comparing them with corresponding patterns from early modern humans and ancestors to both groups. Like rings on a tree, the time it takes for a tooth to grow can be measured by counting visible lines that form about every nine days on the enamel.

On average, Rozzi found Neanderthals developed teeth 15 percent faster than modern humans. Therefore, a Neanderthal's physical development, which mirrors tooth growth, must have been faster as well, he said.

Erik Trinkaus of Washington University in St. Louis said he's skeptical of the research. Human growth varies widely within a population, he said. In fact, Rozzi's study includes some Neanderthal teeth that took as long to develop as modern human teeth.

University of Illinois at Chicago anatomy professor Jay Kelley said he's also concerned about making conclusions based on what are essentially assumptions about Neanderthal tooth growth.

"That's a little dicey," said Kelley, who wrote an accompanying article in Nature calling for more research on the subject.

[Bon mots]

In 1996, pristine evidence of Neanderthal humanness came to light, when a cave in Slovenia produced a small flute made from the thigh bone of a cave bear.

How do we know that the Neanderthal didn't steal this flute from a homosapien she ate?

[Iron Matron]

I know your literal interpretation of the Bible will not allow for such a concept, but until about 50,000 years ago, there were three separate human species on Earth

---

It may though. I'm not speaking evolution as "tadpole to human", the bible does not support that. But evolution within the species is entirely possible, perhaps bibicle.

Adam and Eve were "different" before their expulsion from the Garden. Afterward, Adam and Eve dressed in "animal skins". After the murder of Abel, Cain was sent to the land of "Nod" to live with the people there. This is the earliest human record, maybe it means something?

[Junior]

How do we know that the Neanderthal didn't steal this flute from a homosapien she ate?

I guess even before the invention of money, you still had to give the girl something...

[hgro]

This species developed into what is known today as a rather peculiar type of near humans referred to as "French".

[Verginius Rufus]

How can they tell anything about the syntax of their grammar? There are no written records of their language(s).

[Modernman]

Men can see it. Ever seen a 15 year old that could do a solid physical impersonation of an 18 year old ?

But, your honor, the chicken hormones made her look 18! I swear!

[Modernman]

How does it differ from the evolutionist mythology surrounding the beginning of human life?

"Evolutionist mythology" is supported by a mountain of evidence while creationist mythology is purely based on an old book.

[Fintan]

"This difference in growth between Neanderthals and modern humans is, I think, very strong proof of two different species," he added.

 

[Modernman]

After the murder of Abel, Cain was sent to the land of "Nod" to live with the people there. This is the earliest human record, maybe it means something?

The Bible is the earliest recording of events by humans? Most certainly not. IIRC, writing developed about 6,000 years ago. The Bible is not that old.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[ravingnutter]

The Truthtm is that the Neanderthals were on Noah's Ark, like everything else, but due to the erratic effects of the 2nd law of thermodynamics, which was still kicking in after the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, their teeth matured too rapidly, thus causing horrible dental problems. So they died.

I know one that survived...hubby's getting his dentures next week. Thank the Lord for modern dentistry techniques!

[mewzilla]

John Kerry is proof of devolution.