patsoldJan 26, 2025
Hari Tulsidas
New fossil evidence reveals that Neanderthals cared for a 6-year-old with Down syndrome, challenging stereotypes of these ancient humans. This discovery highlights their capacity for empathy, social bonds, and care for individuals with special needs. A profound reminder of shared humanity across millennia. #Neanderthals #HumanEvolution #Archaeology
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/neanderthals-cared-for-6-year-old-with-down-syndrome-fossil-find-reveals
Neanderthals cared for 6-year-old with Down syndrome, fossil find reveals

The unique shape of an ear bone belonging to a Neanderthal child found in a cave in Spain suggests that she had Down syndrome.

Live Science
Jan 24, 2025 at 5:00pmWeb
Show threadArielleJan 24, 2025
@haritulsidas I always shared the opinion that #neanderthals were really empathic humans who weren't much different in relation to our species. Unfortunately the picture illustrating the neanderthal community shows persons who are dressed in simple skins of bears or other wild animals. We should assume that they, according to the climate they had to cope with, were able to get dressed appropriately.
Show threadUrwumpeJan 25, 2025

@arielle @haritulsidas In a local museum of Schöningen, they intentionally depicted a reconstructed Homo Heidelbergensis, a precursor of the neandertal, nude, because they don't know scientifically, how the clothes looked like, since they were not preserved.

But the found evidence at the museums location at least suggests, that they where able to have fur clothes, they had already pretty sophisticated culture, tools and arts. So, for me, they clearly were well dressed for the paleolithic age.

Show threadArielleJan 25, 2025
@urwumpe @haritulsidas of course I know the #schoeningen museum and the Homo heidelbergensis without clothes. It is always an ambivalent feeling between scientific correctness and the imagination of realistic living conditions
Show threadArielleJan 25, 2025
@urwumpe @haritulsidas well, and it's a problem of predjudice, what we imagine prehistoric people are like or what we think they should be. A very good example is the film 'La guerre du feu' - 'Am Anfang war das Feuer' of Jean Jacques Annaud of 1981. There were lots of just the same predjudices which made us students laugh for weeks.
Show threadUrwumpeJan 25, 2025

@arielle @haritulsidas Its a common thread in human history, that less scientifically accurate people always try to make the (usually pretty smart) people of the past more stupid and misguided than the most stupid people of their present. Despite the evidence.

Like pretending nothing good happened between the fall of the Roman Empire and Charlemagne. Or the constant depiction of the european middle-ages as dark and grim.

Show threadArielleJan 25, 2025
@urwumpe @haritulsidas there is a long tradition of underestimation of facilities and skills. This can be seen in archaeology as well as in relation to colonialism and many other special fields, dependant e.g. on political attention....
Wie der alte Fontane schon sagte: das ist ein weites Feld....
Show threadGoiterzan/Amygdalai LamaJan 25, 2025
@haritulsidas @woozle
.
đź’ś brilliant
Show threadMostlyTatoJan 25, 2025
@haritulsidas
When are over-resourced researchers going to stop spending money answering questions we already know the answers to? That's right, when they stop getting funding.
Next we will reveal that cats have feelings, bees are sentient and humans are not at the centre of the universe.
They won't get funding for those questions though, will they?
Show threadEllyseJan 25, 2025
@haritulsidas really cool, they don’t say if they can do the genetic test but i assume they cannot. that said, im not that surprised but nice that there is evidence of it!
Show threadcaseyjonesedJan 26, 2025
@haritulsidas too bad Republicans can’t be like Neanderthals.