More on last neanderthal

mortongr@flash.net
Wed, 10 Nov 1999 20:24:03 +0000

A week ago I posted a note on the dating of the Velika Pecina hominid. That
anatomically modern human had been thought to be 34,850 years old based
upon the date of the strata in which it had been found. However, directly
dating of the fossil itself showed that it was an intrusion and was only
5000 years old. The same article dated Neanderthal bones in Central Europe
as being around 28,000 years old. This now becomes the youngest
Neanderthal. Several articles discussing the importance of this are now
appearing.

The first is:

http://www.ngnews.com/news/1999/11/110999/neandertal_7087.asp

Why they call the Velika Pecina fossil the Veillencape fossil I don't know.
I have never heard it called that before.

The second is:
http://www.sciam.com/explorations/1999/110899nean/index.html

This one talks about more evidence of interbreeding between Neanderthal and
modern humans from an earlier work Fred H. Smith, "Upper Pleistocene
Hominid Evolution in South-Central Europe: A Review of the Evidence and
Analysis of Trends," Current Anthropology, 23:6(1982), pp. 667-703, p. 667

Of this earlier work Chris Stringer stated:

"While he does not avoid possibly conflicting evidence, Smith presents the
best case yet assembled from any area for a local evolutionary transition
between Neandertals and early anatomically modern hominids. However, I
still believe that the case is not proven and, as I have argued elsewhere,
we all need to think more carefully about our approach and beware of
expecting simple answers to complex question." ~ C.B. Stringer, "Comments",
Current Anthropology, 23:6 (1982), p. 690

I will post more on this over the weekend.
glenn

Foundation, Fall and Flood
Adam, Apes and Anthropology
http://www.flash.net/~mortongr/dmd.htm

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