La Ferrassie 1: New perspectives on a “classic” Neandertal

Taphonomic-forensic analysis of the hominin skulls from the Sima de los Huesos

The Sima de los Huesos (SH) hominin assemblage is composed of thousands of fossil fragments, including pieces of crania and mandibles. The main objective of this work is to address the main taphonomic features of the cranial and mandibular remains from the SH sample, including antemortem, perimortem, and postmortem skeletal disturbances. We present an updated assessment of healed cranial trauma, first described in 1997 and now including new skulls. In addition, this study reviews the perimortem fractures in relation to their location and features of the affected individuals. Finally, this paper deals with the modifications affecting the cranial sample from the SH at the postmortem stage, including physical and biological postdepositional modifications. The SH collection provides a unique opportunity for conducting a complete forensic-taphonomic study on a Middle Pleistocene population.

Taphonomic skeletal disturbances in the Sima de los Huesos postcranial remains

The postcranial skeleton of fossil hominins is crucial for reconstructing the processes that occurred between the time of death and the recovery of the bones. Thousands of postcranial skeletal fragments from at least 29 hominin individuals have been recovered from the Sima de los Huesos Middle Pleistocene site in Spain. This study's primary objective is to address the main taphonomic features of the postcranial remains from the Sima de los Huesos sample, including antemortem, perimortem, and postmortem skeletal disturbances. We present an updated assessment of the bone surface modification analysis, the fracture pattern analysis, and the skeletal part representation to facilitate interpretation of the biostratinomic and fossil-diagenetic processes in this large paleoanthropological collection. We conclude that carnivores (probably bears) had limited access to the hominin bones and complete bodies were probably placed in the site.

Possible Causes of Hypertrophic Osteoarthropathy in the La Ferrassie 1 Neanderthal

For over a century, researchers have been perplexed by the unique osteological findings on La Ferrassie 1 (LF1), one of the most complete Neanderthal remains ever found. In 1997, Fennel and Trinkaus proposed that LF1 suffered from hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HOA), likely secondary to chronic thoracic infection or pulmonary malignancy. This disease process can have many etiologies, and no study has fully explored the possible origin of LF1's HOA. Ultimately, it is most likely that LF1's HOA etiology arose from one of the many infectious diseases that prehistoric Neanderthals were exposed to, specifically a chronic pulmonary RNA virus.

The cranial base and related internal anatomical features in Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens

The cranial anatomy of Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens is well documented in the paleoanthropological and medical literature. However, there are few high-quality visual guides of their comparative morphology. We give here a detailed description of the anatomy of two important fossil specimens, La Chapelle-aux-Saints 1 and abri Pataud 1, based on high-resolution imaging data with each specimen representing the respective morphologies of H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens. We describe the comparative morphology of external, endocranial, and internal characteristics of the cranium, with a focus on the petrous and tympanic portions of the temporal bone. This descriptive approach shows differences between our specimens, including in positions of cerebral components relative to cranial structures and patterns of dural sinus drainage. Numerous external and internal differences in the shape of the petrous temporal are also described, including its articulation with the tympanic bone and the orientation of the petrotympanic crest. The presence of a large protuberance between the osseous Eustachian tube orifice and carotid foramen in H. neanderthalensis suggests that the levator veli palatini muscle took origin more laterally than the dilator tubae arm of the tensor veli palatini muscle, a feature shared with H. sapiens. The overall pattern that emerges is one in which two species have undergone large-scale evolutionary changes in a functionally critical region. Such differences necessitate high-quality visualization and consideration of both internal and external morphology.

Pluridisciplinary evidence for burial for the La Ferrassie 8 Neandertal child

The origin of funerary practices has important implications for the emergence of so-called modern cognitive capacities and behaviour. We provide new multidisciplinary information on the archaeological context of the La Ferrassie 8 Neandertal skeleton (grand abri of La Ferrassie, Dordogne, France), including geochronological data -¹⁴C and OSL-, ZooMS and ancient DNA data, geological and stratigraphic information from the surrounding context, complete taphonomic study of the skeleton and associated remains, spatial information from the 1968-1973 excavations, and new (2014) fieldwork data. Our results show that a pit was dug in a sterile sediment layer and the corpse of a two-year-old child was laid there. A hominin bone from this context, identified through Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) and associated with Neandertal based on its mitochondrial DNA, yielded a direct ¹⁴C age of 41.7-40.8 ka cal BP (95%), younger than the ¹⁴C dates of the overlying archaeopaleontological layers and the OSL age of the surrounding sediment. This age makes the bone one of the most recent directly dated Neandertals. It is consistent with the age range for the Châtelperronian in the site and in this region and represents the third association of Neandertal taxa to Initial Upper Palaeolithic lithic technocomplex in Western Europe. A detailed multidisciplinary approach, as presented here, is essential to advance understanding of Neandertal behavior, including funerary practices.

Triangulating Neanderthal cognition: A tale of not seeing the forest for the trees

The inference of Neanderthal cognition, including their cultural and linguistic capabilities, has persisted as a fiercely debated research topic for decades. This lack of consensus is substantially based on inherent uncertainties in reconstructing prehistory out of indirect evidence as well as other methodological limitations. Further factors include systemic difficulties within interdisciplinary discourse, data artifacts, historic research biases, and the sheer scope of the relevant research. Given the degrees of freedom in interpretation ensuing from these complications, any attempt to find approximate answers to the yet unsettled pertinent discourse may not rest on single studies, but instead a careful and comprehensive interdisciplinary synthesis of findings. Triangulating Neanderthals' cognition by considering the plethora of data, diverse perspectives and aforementioned complexities present within the literature constitutes the currently most reliable pathway to tentative conclusions. While some uncertainties remain, such an approach paints the picture of an extensive shared humanity between anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals. This article is categorized under: Cognitive Biology > Evolutionary Roots of Cognition Linguistics > Evolution of Language.

Comment on 'Krapina atlases suggest a high prevalence of anatomical variations in the first cervical vertebra of Neanderthals'

A review of the observation of an anterior cleft on the atlas of a Neanderthal from Krapina.

Issues of theory and method in the analysis of Paleolithic mortuary behavior: A view from Shanidar Cave

Mortuary behavior (activities concerning dead conspecifics) is one of many traits that were previously widely considered to have been uniquely human, but on which perspectives have changed markedly in recent years. Theoretical approaches to hominin mortuary activity and its evolution have undergone major revision, and advances in diverse archeological and paleoanthropological methods have brought new ways of identifying behaviors such as intentional burial. Despite these advances, debates concerning the nature of hominin mortuary activity, particularly among the Neanderthals, rely heavily on the rereading of old excavations as new finds are relatively rare, limiting the extent to which such debates can benefit from advances in the field. The recent discovery of in situ articulated Neanderthal remains at Shanidar Cave offers a rare opportunity to take full advantage of these methodological and theoretical developments to understand Neanderthal mortuary activity, making a review of these advances relevant and timely.

Krapina atlases suggest a high prevalence of anatomical variations in the first cervical vertebra of Neanderthals

The first cervical vertebra, atlas, and its anatomical variants have been widely studied in Homo sapiens. However, in Neanderthals, the presence of anatomical variants of the atlas has been very little studied until very recently. Only the Neanderthal group from the El Sidrón site (Spain) has been analysed with regard to the anatomical variants of the atlas. A high prevalence of anatomical variants has been described in this sample, which points to low genetic diversity in this Neanderthal group. Even so, the high prevalence of anatomical variations detected in El Sidrón Neanderthal atlases needs to be confirmed by analysing more Neanderthal remains. In this context, we analysed the possible presence of anatomical variants in the three Neanderthal atlases recovered from the Krapina site (Croatia) within the Neanderthal lineage. Two of the three Krapina atlases presented anatomical variations. One atlas (Krapina 98) had an unclosed transverse foramen and the other (Krapina 99) presented a non-fused anterior atlas arch. Moreover, an extended review of the bibliography also showed these anatomical variations in other Middle and Upper Pleistocene hominins, leading us to hypothesise that anatomical variations of the atlas had a higher prevalence in extinct hominins than in modern humans.

The human remains from Axlor (Dima, Biscay, northern Iberian Peninsula)

OBJECTIVES

We provide the description and comparative analysis of all the human fossil remains found at Axlor during the excavations carried out by J. M. de Barandiarán from 1967 to 1974: a cranial vault fragment and seven teeth, five of which likely belonged to the same individual, although two are currently lost. Our goal is to describe in detail all these human remains and discuss both their taxonomic attribution and their stratigraphic context.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We describe external and internal anatomy, and use classic and geometric morphometrics. The teeth from Axlor are compared to Neandertals, Upper Paleolithic, and recent modern humans.

RESULTS

Two teeth (a left dm² , a left di¹ ) and the parietal fragment show morphological features consistent with a Neandertal classification, and were found in an undisturbed Mousterian context. The remaining three teeth (plus the two lost ones), initially classified as Neandertals, show morphological features and a general size that are more compatible with their classification as modern humans.

DISCUSSION

A left parietal fragment (Level VIII) from a single probably adult Neandertal individual was recovered during the old excavations performed by Barandiarán. Additionally, two different Neandertal children lost deciduous teeth during the formations of levels V (left di¹ ) and IV (right dm² ). In addition, a modern human individual is represented by five remains (two currently lost) from a complex stratigraphic setting. Some of the morphological features of these remains suggest that they may represent one of the scarce examples of Upper Paleolithic modern human remains in the northern Iberian Peninsula, which should be confirmed by direct dating.

Primate thanatology and hominoid mortuary archeology

In recent years, a thanatology of primates has become a respectable research topic, and although still sparse, observations among several taxa have shown how complex responses to the dead can be. In human evolutionary archeology, re-analysis of old ‘burial’ sites is slowly revising our view on the development of specifically human responses to the dead. We propose here the means of integrating information from the two disciplines of primatology and archeology, in support of the field of primate thanatology. We propose a terminology and a shared set of research questions, from which we generate a number of observations that can be utilized in the field, in order to establish a working dialogue and foster greater collaboration across the two disciplines.

Description and analysis of three Homo naledi incudes from the Dinaledi Chamber, Rising Star cave (South Africa)

This study describes three incudes recovered from the Dinaledi Chamber in the Rising Star cave system in South Africa. All three bones were recovered during sieving of excavated sediments and likely represent three Homo naledi individuals. Morphologically and metrically, the Dinaledi ossicles resemble those of chimpanzees and Paranthropus robustus more than they do later members of the genus Homo, and fall outside of the modern human range of variation in several dimensions. Despite this, when overall size is considered, the functional lengths in H. naledi and P. robustus are very similar to those predicted for a human with a similar-sized incus. In this sense, both taxa seem to show a relatively elongated functional length, distinguishing them from chimpanzees. The functional length in H. naledi is slightly longer in absolute terms than in P. robustus, suggesting H. naledi may already show a slight increase in functional length compared with early hominins. While H. naledi lacks the more open angle between the long and short processes found in modern humans, considered a derived feature within the genus Homo, the value in H. naledi is similar to that predicted for a hominoid with a similar-sized incus. Principal components analysis of size-standardized variables shows H. naledi falling outside of the recent human range of variation, but within the confidence ellipse for gorillas. Phylogenetic polarity is complicated by the absence of incus data from early members of the genus Homo, but the generally primitive nature of the H. naledi incudes is consistent with other primitive features of the species, such as the very small cranial capacity. These ossicles add significantly to the understanding of incus variation in hominins and provide important new data on the morphology and taxonomic affinities of H. naledi.

First data of Neandertal bird and carnivore exploitation in the Cantabrian Region (Axlor; Barandiaran excavations; Dima, Biscay, Northern Iberian Peninsula)

Neandertals were top predators who basically relied on middle- to large-sized ungulates for dietary purposes, but there is growing evidence that supports their consumption of plants, leporids, tortoises, marine resources, carnivores and birds. The Iberian Peninsula has provided the most abundant record of bird exploitation for meat in Europe, starting in the Middle Pleistocene. However, the bird and carnivore exploitation record was hitherto limited to the Mediterranean area of the Iberian Peninsula. Here we present the first evidence of bird and carnivore exploitation by Neandertals in the Cantabrian region. We have found cut-marks in two golden eagles, one raven, one wolf and one lynx remain from the Mousterian levels of Axlor. The obtaining of meat was likely the primary purpose of the cut-marks on the golden eagle and lynx remains. Corvids, raptors, felids and canids in Axlor could have likely acted as commensals of the Neandertals, scavenging upon the carcasses left behind by these hunter-gatherers. This could have brought them closer to Neandertal groups who could have preyed upon them. These new results provide additional information on their dietary scope and indicate a more complex interaction between Neandertals and their environment.