Lifeways of Archaic Homo

Populations
Virendra Mathur (MS14129) |HSS 616|

In 1856, workers in Neander Valley (called the Neander Thal) discovered a

fossil which later came to be known as Feldhofer 1 the first Archaic Homo
fossil to be recognized. The fossil listed the existence of another population
of humans referred to as Archaic Homo. It was the human population or
hominin species that existed between the time periods guarded by Homo
erectus and Homo sapiens, the period beginning from 500,000 years ago and
might very well stretched to 50,000 years ago. The class called Archaic
Homo includes Homo neanderthalensis, Homo rhodesiensis, Homo
hidelbergensis and also include Homo antecessor. To distinguish modern
humans from the archaic humans, under the species Homo, modern
humans have been named as Homo sapiens sapiens. The species timeline is
not clearly demarcated, some of it showing the contemporary existence of
Homo erectus and archaic Homo populations.
Most of what is known about Archaic Homo growth, culture and
development is from Neanderthals. Modern humans are characterized by a
slowing down of facial growth resulting in small adult faces, compared with
Archaic Homo.
Anatomically, archaic Homo species showed the presence of larger braincase
and increased mass from H.erectus. Thick cranial bone with well-developed
superaorbital tori, prognathism which was the reason for absence of chin.

LANGUAGE, BEHAVIOR, AND CULTURE

Early Archaic Homo fossils are generally considered to be belonging to
Lower Paleolithic industries, while Late Archaics generally with Middle
Paleolithic. Middle Paleolithic is distinct from Lower Paleolithic in the form
that it exhibits larger number of distinctly different tool types. The same
applies to a comparison of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, although the
greater technological variation in the Upper Paleolithic is sometimes
interpreted as stylistic and reflecting the development of ethnicities. Blade
tool became much more common in Upper Paleolithic, a marked difference
in stone tool manufacture. Archaic humans are generally considered to be
associated with controlled and regular use of fire, which was essential to
human occupation of temperate regions and access to new food sources.
They survived across a variety of environments and landscapes by foraging
in these areas. Clear evidences of cooperative hunting strategies for large
animals and acquiring of dietary diversity have been found which are not
much distinct from those found in settings of early modern humans.
Symbolic thought is one of the key characteristics of living humans.
Evidences of the same from the Lower Paleolithic have been found, for
example, at Sima de los Huesos, the accumulation of the human remains
must have formed because fellow humans were throwing bodies into the
otherwise unused cave. It has been reported that evidences of complex
symbolic behavior and adaptation to extreme environments appear and
disappear at various times and among both archaic and early modern
human populations.
Fossils showing anatomical changes which helped in enhancement of
speech and language skills might provide hints towards development of
language production and processing in archaic Homo. Recent evidence
indicates that Archaic Homo had both modern-like speech and languageprocessing capabilities.
Archaeological evidences provide a robust insight into Neanderthal culture.
From the studies it has been found that in colder climates, Neanderthals
used some sort of protective covering to cover their bodies and keep warm.
Animal skin seems to be the most likely used material. Indirect evidences

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for this comes from two sources. First, presence of many stones awls and
borers at various Neanderthal sites, wherein, awls were usually used to
punch or drill holes in relatively soft materials such as wood and leather. A
second anatomical source of evidence is a Neanderthal skull from La
Ferrassie in France. The working of skins could also have been connected
with making cordage, bags, and tents.
Small bone fossils and unusual colorful pebbles, not native to the locations,
have been found at a number of Neanderthal sites which shows, in all
likelihood, that Neanderthals collected these items for their aesthetic value.
Finding of soft manganese dioxide nodules at some sites indicate their
usage, preferably to make a black pigment, the usage of which is unknown.
Owing to their primarily hunting and gathering lifestyles, Late Homo
heidelbergensis and H. neanderthalensis, and other archaic human
populations, exploited a wide range of food sources including meat. This
made them to travel over long distances and vast territories to remain in
contact with the animal populations which migrate seasonally.
Large quantities of bones of many different kinds of animals,
including rhinoceros, bison, brown bear have been found at many
Neanderthal sites. Meat being a major part of their diet (proven from
chemical studies), there have been questions rising on the habit of
scavenging of dead bodies by them. Discovery of spear points from the neck
bone of a butchered wild ass at a 50Ka old site in Syria named Umm el
provides some insight into the same. The technology of Neanderthals, who
were definitely hunters, was deemed to be less efficient than their
contemporary Homo sapiens who replaced them in Europe and Southwest
Asia. Evidences found speculate that Neanderthals would have concentrated
on hunting animals in hers in open grasslands whereas they would have
hunted solitary game in the forest.
They also gathered wild plants for food and for medicine. Neandertals
gathered wild plants for food, to make tools, and probably for medicine. It
reflects from the findings of microscopic residues of organic material, starch
and other substances from evidences recovered from Southern Ukraine.

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Some of the grains that appear cooked have been found stuck between teeth
of several Neanderthal fossils. All these evidences show that Neanderthals
were more capable and flexible in tool making and food acquisition than
had generally been thought.
Evidences of obtaining food by cannibalism have also been found. Primarily
at a cave site in France where 120Ka 100Ka old human bones show marks
of meat removal, matching with the same way they used to process their
hunts.
Ritual purposes were found to be the occasion by anthropologists and
historians at the time of most of the cannibalism events. Among many of the
indigenous cultures of New Guinea and the Amazon Basin of South
America, it was a normal funerary practice--the people consumed were dead
relatives.
Usage and control of fire helped the archaic Homo to thrive for long in
oppressing winter conditions and to travel long distances in night also. Site
of Gesher Benot-Yaaqov (in Israel) provides 790,000 year old
circumstaintial evidence for the fire use in the form of burned wood and
seeds as well as fire altered stones. Late Homo erectus site
at Zhoukoudian near Beijing, China and the 400,000 year old Homo
heidelbergensis or early archaic human site of Terra Amata near Nice on the
French Mediterranean coast provide the earliest convincing evidence of fire
use for cooking, appearing at the 780,000-400,000 year old. The evidence in
both cases have been in the form of burned wood and bones being refused
to eat, having char marks from cooking. There are still not sufficient
evidence that there was complete control of fire in the sense that it can be
started at will. But by 100,000 years ago, there is abundant evidence of
regular fire use at Neanderthal sites, where they were able to create fire at
will and use them for multiple purposes. It has also been suggested that they
probably conserved fire and carried it from place to place when possible.
Neanderthals and other archaic humans garnered distinct advantages by
harnessing of fire. Significant protection from cold winter weather in
temperate and subarctic regions, keeping predators away from camp sites at
night, cooking which helped breakdown of cellulose in plant foods making it

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more digestible and cooking meat which helped kill microbial parasites that
wild animals often harbor were some of the advantages provided by the
harnessing of fire. Fire probably also would have been a focal point for social
gatherings.
Evidences of regular and repeated occupation of mouths of caves and rock
shelters by Neanderthals in Europe and Southwest Asia have provided
enough evidence about their lifestyle. Cave openings often faced south
which is seen as an adaptation to get more exposure to the sun light and
warmth. This orientation would have proven even more useful in times of
cold ice age winters. Though there have been some artifacts found hundreds
of feet into Bruniquel Cane in France. Concentrated smoke residues high on
the walls of that cave suggest that Neanderthals were using torches for light.
Open-air camps were also occupied as temporary shelters. It is likely that
these shelters were most often brush and branch lean-tos and simple tents
made with animal skins, though no direct evidence of their construction has
been found. Ring-shaped enclosures out of mammoth bones have also been
found at Neanderthal sites, for example, at a 44,000 year old enclosure in
Ukraine which consists of 116 mammoth bones and tusks in which parts of
mammoths and other animals were butchered, cooked, and eaten.
First good evidences of burial of dead comes from cave sites 90,000 years
old. Burials must have taken place near the mouth or openings of the cave,
in the soft soil of their living areas. Stone tools and/or animal bones have
been found in much of the graves. Paleoanthropologists differ on the idea
that these objects have been left their intentionally. However, if they were, it
might imply that the Neanderthals were trying to prepare the dead for what
was ahead of them. A body of a man placed on pine boughs in the grave
and flowers from 8 different species sprinkled on top have been found in the
case of a burial in Shanidar Cave, Northern Iraq. It looked like the
happening of a more elaborate ritual activity. It show that Neanderthals
might have believed in the concept of afterlife, as this kind of behavior is
highly unlikely if they just have considered their friends as only food or
garbage.

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Buried heads of cave bears have also been found buried in two Neanderthal
caves in West Europe. Cave bears were one of the largest bear species, now
extinct. These carnivores hunted the same animals as hunted by
Neanderthals and would have ran after Neanderthal as well.
Neanderthals have developed culture and social organization which shows
signs of the development of the feeling of compassion. It was developed to
the level that a member of the clan unable to provide for was taken care of
and fed for. The fossil found at La Chapelle-aux-Saints, that of a man had
been predicted to live well beyond normal life expectancy of 30-35 years of
age. The man has been now deduced to have had severe crippling arthritis
that would have made walking difficult. The remains of 2 teeth, also found
with the same fossil, shows that the man was unable to chew or only ate soft
foods or other chew his food for him. It is likely that the event of his living
beyond the normal life expectancy range for these humans was because of
the compassionate behavior of the clan. Same reasons also support the
evidence of group support found in Shanidar cave. The man who had been
so carefully buried there in a ritual manner had major orthopedic
problems. Multiple broken bones of the old man found there may have
been a result of multiple crushing injuries early in life. This apparently
caused degenerative joint disease, the withering of one of his arms, and
blindness in one eye. Like the La Chapelle-aux-Saints man, he would have
been severely handicapped, yet he lived 30-45 years. To do this, he must
have had considerable family and community support.

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