During the onset of the last ice age, Neaderthals might have died off because they lacked the technology to create wamer clothes.
That’s according to a researcher at the Australian National University. Previous theories have supposed that Neaderthals were killed off by modern humans in armed struggle or simply outcompeted for food and other resources.
(The theory that neaderthals and modern interbred has been largely discredited by DNA evidence.)
But postgrad researcher Ian Gilligan argues in the most recent issues of “World Archaeology” that modern humans were better than Neanderthals not at hunting but at sewing.
Modern humans were less well adapted to the cold than Neanderthals, so those living in cooler parts of Africa needed to develop stone blades, bone points and needles for sewing multilayered, “complex” clothes. So when the last ice age hit, modern humans were well-equipped to produce clothes warm enough to fend off the cold. Because Neanderthals were better adapted to cold climates, they’d not been prompted to develop advanced sewing technology. When the temperature dropped, they were stuck with clothes that didn’t keep them warm enough and didn’t know how to improve on the clothes they already wore.
And so, according to the theory, the majority of Neanderthals froze to death, paving the way for the dominance of modern humans.
Source: Discovery News
And thats that then. But surely they would have had to done some type of needlework to make full use of the animals they killed. They survived in a mostly cold climate for so long that I cant see why they couldn’t have adapted as well as modern humans. Modern Inuit Peoples make use of animal hide, and they dont use this type of multilayered, “complex” clothing.
Wow! It really is the little things, isn’t it?
Thanks for a cool story!
Deborah
considering the complex tool industries of the neanderthals, I really don’t think that lack of sewing skills played a role in their diappearance. they made art, buried their dead, cared for one another, and had an efficient stone tool technology unlike any other culture.climate could have certainly played a role but more likely if that was the cause the change was so severe that better garments would not have prevented their demise. disease is a more likely cause, but then all is mere speculation at this point.
Thats a very interesting concept. Just a lay person as myself though. I find it a little far fectched. Though we as human sometimes dont exactly live up to our on elder generation. Yes I do realize some think humans and neaderthals had differnt levels of intelect and congintive skills. And Im sure to some extent thats true.
In my mind I find it difficult to beleave that was the reason why. I shall endever to locate something to suppore my beleif on this matter. No I dont have any off hand.
For those scollars of words folks out there. I say only this. Its a pityfull person who can only spell a word one way.
Be safe folks.
So that implies that we humans survived because of our ability to protect ourselves from the elements. Naked, we may be weaker than Neanderthals, but our brains allow us to clothe ourselves.
I am very skeptical about any such claim.
1. The Neanderthal had been in Europe before Modern humans and they had survived, so they must have developed some good survival strategies for the cold. The climactic change didn’t happen over night.
2. Why wouldn’t they have just copied the modern humans after they had made contact? We know they were sophisticated, as a previous post noted.
3. “Occam’s razor” tells us the simplest explanation is usually best. Knowing humans, that would suggest warfare.
Until my time machine is perfected, I guess we just won’t know.
Z
Well, I always knew sewing was a survival skill. Maybe we should send this on to the Board of Education and they will reinstate home economics as mandatory.