Bones complete Neanderthal 'family'
AAP Thu, Sep 12 2002 10:54 AM AESTArchaeologists
have discovered the bones of a Neanderthal woman and child in the German valley where the
original "Neanderthal Man" was found about 150 years ago.
Neanderthals died out about 30,000 years ago and scientists say they are not direct
ancestors of modern humans.
The species is named after a village near Dusseldorf where the first Neanderthal remains
were discovered in the summer of 1856.
Archaeologists said on Tuesday they had determined that arm bones and a milk tooth found
about two years ago were those of a woman and child who lived about 40,000 years ago.
"The arm bones probably belonged to a woman. They are more fragile than those of the
Neanderthal Man. And the milk tooth is that of a 12-year-old child. We have a whole family
together," said Gerd-Christian Weniger, director of the Neanderthal Museum where the
remains are displayed.
Weniger said it was not certain if the three Neanderthals had lived at the same time.
"They were all around about 40,000 years ago. But they could have lived a thousand
years apart," he said.
Modern similarity
Despite being a different species, the Neanderthals were quite similar to modern humans
although their receding foreheads and prominent brows set them apart in appearance.
They made jewellery, hunted in teams, had a developed language and buried their dead.
"There are differences between us and the Neanderthals. They could have contributed
to our genetic pool about 30,000 years ago. But that is not clear," Weniger said.
The Neanderthals were actually quite small, about 165 centimetres. But it's true that they
had enormous muscles and big bones," Weniger said.
END OF REPORT
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