ian990
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Mar 16, 2018 16:29:17 GMT
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Post by ian990 on Apr 12, 2018 13:22:26 GMT
When we think of Neanderthals, we often imagine these distant ancestors of ours to be rather brutish, dying at a young age and ultimately becoming extinct. But new findings show that at least some of these ancient Neanderthals survived into old age – despite suffering from sickness or diseases. Neanderthals were hunter-gatherers, living in harsh environments, mostly colder than today. And of course they had to face different dangers to modern humans – not only during the hunt, but also because they shared ecosystems with large carnivores such as lions, leopards and hyenas. But despite this harsh life of the hunter gatherer, our research indicates that some Neanderthals lived to be fairly old and even had some of the signs of age related illnesses – such as degenerative lesions in the spine, consistent with osteoarthritis. Our research also found that an adult male Neanderthal survived bone fractures. And when he died, he was buried by members of his group. 
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jonty30
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May 6, 2013 21:08:40 GMT
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Post by jonty30 on Apr 12, 2018 13:45:06 GMT
there is so little we know about them.
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lindyl1
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Kentucky Derby Winner 2014
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Apr 24, 2014 16:00:45 GMT
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Post by lindyl1 on Apr 14, 2018 1:04:56 GMT
Makes me wonder just how old is old?
Having said that, it amazed me that man ever survived considering all the deadly iseases and no antibiotics.
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Wolfcreek
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May 6, 2013 20:57:55 GMT
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Post by Wolfcreek on Apr 14, 2018 11:27:57 GMT
Makes me wonder just how old is old? Having said that, it amazed me that man ever survived considering all the deadly iseases and no antibiotics. Then again, maybe those deadly diseases weren't around then or there was no one to bring them into your society.
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jonty30
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May 6, 2013 21:08:40 GMT
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Post by jonty30 on Apr 14, 2018 14:10:27 GMT
Makes me wonder just how old is old? Having said that, it amazed me that man ever survived considering all the deadly iseases and no antibiotics. Then again, maybe those deadly diseases weren't around then or there was no one to bring them into your society. They were around. Childhood, until the age of modern medicine, had a high death rate. If you managed to survive childhood, then you lived as long as anybody else.
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biglin
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May 28, 2014 16:37:34 GMT
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Post by biglin on Apr 15, 2018 23:05:02 GMT
Neanderthals have suffered a bad press; partly out of Victorian prejudices and partly because most of the early specimens found were suffering from arthritis or other diseases.
Actually they were fully human and tough as nails; to survive the Ice Age (as they did) you needed to be tough.
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jonty30
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May 6, 2013 21:08:40 GMT
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Post by jonty30 on Apr 15, 2018 23:37:55 GMT
Neanderthals have suffered a bad press; partly out of Victorian prejudices and partly because most of the early specimens found were suffering from arthritis or other diseases. Actually they were fully human and tough as nails; to survive the Ice Age (as they did) you needed to be tough. Here is one artistic impression, based on the skull shape, as to what they may have looked like and why we have this eternal fear of them through our epigenes. The author that I just posted commissioned an artist to draw what it looked like based on the skull, but to use artistic license to make it seem scary. I think it's scary. 
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jonty30
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May 6, 2013 21:08:40 GMT
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Post by jonty30 on Apr 15, 2018 23:38:43 GMT
The author in question has a different theory and it's interesting. themandus.org/
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Wolfcreek
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May 6, 2013 20:57:55 GMT
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Post by Wolfcreek on Apr 16, 2018 12:14:08 GMT
Then again, maybe those deadly diseases weren't around then or there was no one to bring them into your society. They were around. Childhood, until the age of modern medicine, had a high death rate. If you managed to survive childhood, then you lived as long as anybody else. Yes, that's true even today. Fortunately they didn't having people from all over the planet bringing in new diseases like we've had in modern times.
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Wolfcreek
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May 6, 2013 20:57:55 GMT
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Post by Wolfcreek on Apr 16, 2018 12:17:01 GMT
The author in question has a different theory and it's interesting. themandus.org/They  had cat eyes?
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biglin
Investigator

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May 28, 2014 16:37:34 GMT
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Post by biglin on Apr 17, 2018 0:13:16 GMT
Neanderthals have suffered a bad press; partly out of Victorian prejudices and partly because most of the early specimens found were suffering from arthritis or other diseases. Actually they were fully human and tough as nails; to survive the Ice Age (as they did) you needed to be tough. Here is one artistic impression, based on the skull shape, as to what they may have looked like and why we have this eternal fear of them through our epigenes. The author that I just posted commissioned an artist to draw what it looked like based on the skull, but to use artistic license to make it seem scary. I think it's scary.  It's an 'artist's impression' - in other words, guesswork. About as accurate as Streicher's caricatures of Jews. Try studying the subject more; this sort of tosh is old-fashioned rubbish. All serious prehistorians take my point of view nowadays.
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jonty30
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May 6, 2013 21:08:40 GMT
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Post by jonty30 on Apr 17, 2018 2:38:29 GMT
Here is a Neanderthal skull vs human skull. There is a difference. The author who commissioned the work had the artist work with a skull. It's pretty standard to do that. We know how to build a face around a skull. That's all he did. link
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