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Behavioral Differences Between Near Eastern Neanderthals and the Early Modern Humans from Skhul and Qafzeh: An Assessment Based on Comparative Samples of Holocene Humans

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Human Paleontology and Prehistory

Part of the book series: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology ((VERT))

Abstract

The differences and similarities between Near Eastern Neanderthals and the early modern humans from Skhul and Qafzeh in Israel have long been a point of study and debate. Conclusions about the magnitude and especially the implications of the differences have served as evidence to support or refute competing hypotheses about their cultural and biological differences. Here we revisit the controversy by assessing the midshaft shapes and robusticity of the femur , tibial , humerus , and radius of these Middle Paleolithic samples in comparison to European Neanderthals, Gravettian modern humans, several modern individuals from other late Pleistocene cultures in Europe and Israel, and a diverse set of Holocene humans from around the globe. The results show that the Near Eastern Neanderthals resemble European Neanderthals as well as a diverse array of modern agriculturalists and intensive foragers. In contrast, the people from Skhul and Qafzeh are much more distinct from recent samples but bear a degree of resemblance to Khoesan and Zulu males and females, Amud 1 , and Ohalo 2 . Additional insights emerge when the upper and lower limb are considered separately, but the result remains that the early moderns rather than Neanderthals seem to have faced an unusual, or at least uncommon, set of mechanical demands in comparison to most of the more recent groups.

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Acknowledgments

It is a great privilege to participate in this volume in honor of Professor Yoel Rak. Paleoanthropology always feels more exciting, more vivid, and more fun whenever Yoel is involved. His passion for the subject is perhaps only matched by his artist’s eye for morphology and his amazing kindness and generosity to colleagues as well as to students just beginning their careers. One of OMP’s happiest memories of working on the 1992 field season at Hayonim Cave came when, during our visit to his office in Tel Aviv, Yoel brought out the skeleton of Kebara 2 for a small crowd of excited graduate students. It was OMP’s first look at a real Neanderthal skeleton and many of the impressions of the skeleton’s morphology that flooded into OMP’s mind are emblazoned there permanently, associated with a cozy feeling of happiness and excitement.

Funds to collect the data were provided by the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the Boise Fund, John C. Pearson, and the University of New Mexico. Lastly, many curators at a large number of collections as well as the heirs of Max Lohest graciously allowed access to the fossils and recent skeletons in their care. Comments from two anonymous reviewers and Professor Erella Hovers helped to improve the manuscript. We are very grateful to them all.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87121, USA

    Osbjorn M. Pearson & Vitale S. Sparacello

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  1. Osbjorn M. Pearson
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  2. Vitale S. Sparacello
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Correspondence to Osbjorn M. Pearson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy & Anthropolog, Tel-Aviv University Department of Anatomy & Anthropolog, Tel-Aviv, Israel

    Assaf Marom

  2. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Institute of Archaeology, Jerusalem, Israel

    Erella Hovers

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Pearson, O.M., Sparacello, V.S. (2017). Behavioral Differences Between Near Eastern Neanderthals and the Early Modern Humans from Skhul and Qafzeh: An Assessment Based on Comparative Samples of Holocene Humans. In: Marom, A., Hovers, E. (eds) Human Paleontology and Prehistory. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46646-0_13

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