Neanderthal Harbours

Neanderthal Harbours
Andre Willers
5 Apr 2012
“A girl in every port”
Synopsis:
Sea-going Neanderthals survived and merged into the Homo Saps , while their unsophisticated land cousins became extinct .
Discussion :
Evidence:
See NewScientist 3 Mar 2012 p10 “Neanderthals were ancient mariners”
Mousterian (ie Neanderthal) tools has recently been found on Greek islands (Lefkada , Kefalonia ,Zakynthos) that could only have been reached by boats in the last 300 000 years . Crete as well .
Nobody has really looked elsewhere , but Malta would be a good bet .
So would the Orkney Islands . See link below
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/120127-stonehenge-ness-brodgar-scotland-science/
Why go to sea ?
The Neanderthals faced two major challenges :
Overheating and short legs . (Their evolution did not include a period of cursorial raptors , but more cold-adapted , ambush hunters ) .
A dugout canoe solved both problems . Rapid transport and cooling via a quick dip over the side .
We can thus infer that Neanderthals were strong swimmers, with their cold-adaptation subcutaneous fat giving them extra buoyancy and insulation .
Don’t sneer at dugout canoes . Melanesians paddled all over the Pacific with them .
The Neanderthal build was ideal for a paddler . Strong upper body , with lots of fast-twitch muscles . And Europe abounded in trees suitable for the purpose . From big barks , to big hardwoods .
Population grew slowly and proceeded by growth at the peripheries . Living was easy by the shores , but lack of large food surpluses kept numbers down .
Still , they got around in the period 300 000 to 30 000 years before present .
They would have preferred the same sites for harbours as later civilizations . So you would have to dig deep to find traces .

The Neanderthal-HomoSaps meeting . (about 50 000 years ago)
This was not a collision , or even a competition initially . The Neanderthals had the best spots (water , harbours , hunting ,etc) . Small family groups of HomoSaps drifted in and joined them . They were cousins , after all (even if the HomoSaps dogs could smell the difference). Interbreeding started .
The Neanderthal civilization was a thin coastal layer , connected by canoe networks , coastal hopping . This was still faster than walking . Living was easy .
The good news spread east . HomoSaps plus dogs were more efficient hunters than Neanderthal ambush hunters . A population pressure developed towards the west , towards easier living (remember , agriculture had not developed yet , but Humans were even then territorial.)
The Neanderthals split into two groups :
1.The inland ones could not compete with HomoSaps plus dogs and became extinct . See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com “Death of the Neanderthals” Sep 2009 . Repeated in Appendix I for your convenience.
2.The coastal ones (the sophisticated ones) incorporated HomoSaps into their civilization , interbred with them . Initially Lords of the Manor , figuratively speaking , their descendants’ genes became mixed in the wash according to well-known genetic principles .
Sheer HomoSaps numbers meant that the present contribution of their genes varies between 4% – 10% , with even higher percentages in certain geographical locations where gene-pools have remained isolated . For instance , there is some evidence that Neanderthals were pale-skinned and red-haired (google it) . Geographical isolation of genepools in the North-Sea islands needs some investigation .
Think of it this way : “Cousin George couldn’t make a living anymore in the old family cave , so we invited him and his family to stay here in Cosy Harbour . We have plenty of lazy HomoSaps servants and he can work on one of my canoes.”

!Click speakers
Neanderthals were definitely !click speakers . Note their propensity for caves , and large stone heritages . See previous posts on Click language.


Interesting asides:
1.Red hair and temper .
Ambush hunters are known for hair-trigger , explosive adrenalin surges . Neanderthals would then have had an explosive temper that quickly flared and then burned out . Definitely not a cursorial raptor characteristic . Good for quick , decisive combats , but a weakness against a cursorial raptor .
2.Hairy Mediterraneans :
I have seen many Levants , Italians , etc who were extremely hairy . Shaggy is the word . I could never figure out where they came from . Even HomoSaps from cold climates were not that hairy . Now you know why . They had a heavy influx of neanderthal genes . Spread out all over the Med shores .

The Neanderthal Harbours :
A pesky question . They would have preferred the same sites for settlement that later humans did , with subsequent destruction of evidence .
But , there is one difference : Flint .
What is worthwhile transporting in a canoe and can be traded ? Worked tools . This meant Flint at the time . And work it they did . England was rich in flint and was extensively mined .
(see http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/caah/landscapeandtownscapearchaeology/neolithic_flint_mines_of_sussex.html )
This happened in fits and starts over a period of at least 1 000 000 years , including the Neanderthal period . The flint had to be dug out , worked , transported. This meant logistics .
The miners might have been supported by local hunting , but the knappers were sophisticated technicians demanding luxuries (ie imports) . The end product had to be exported . This was done by water-transport . Canoes . A currency of some sort (markers of promise , supervised by priests) would be needed .
Fashion : initially , good old-fashioned , workmanlike Mousterian tools were sold all over the place , but the fashion shifted to lighter , fancier , more specialized tools .
So , before the Bronze-age civilization there was the Neolithic civilization , encompassing about the same trade-routes and using the same the same shippers . The Neolithic civilization did not collapse , except for some ports . It segued into the Bronze-age civilization .
But Bronze-age civilizations would not need the same harbours as Neolithic civilizations . These harbours should still be reasonably pristine .

Where to look in England :
There is a whole clutch of flint mines near the South Coast of England (Cissbury) . The coastline kept changing , so look for least-effort routes from Cissbury to the sea .
The harbour would probably be no more than an inlet that would allow a large canoes to ground safely . But there would be an associated warehouse and guardpost .
Pirates : a high-value shipment like worked arms and tools would attract pirates . The shipments would then pulse in well-armed convoys . The detritus from these land and sea-convoys would be fertile fields for archaeologists , especially since they would be untouched by later non-neolithic civilizations . So look for detritus middens at strategic points near a old harbour . While the coastline would have changed extensively , strategic lookouts and defensive points changes much slower . So , you could probably use Google-Earth to rule out indefensible positions (most of them) . The remainder can be done in detail .

This is an important question .
Were Neanderthals more fertile with HomoSaps than with other Neanderthals ?
This is a distinct possibility . Epigenetic factors that evolved to limit fertility were inoperative in the crossbreeds . If they had children , they had lots of them , with no built-in limitation .

Pandemic of Fertility :
Was the worldwide population explosion from 1700 AD onward related ?
The answer seems to be yes. The act of Union of Scotland and England in 1704 exposed the rest of the world to prions evolved on some Scottish Island . These prions (folded proteins) inactivated epigenetic controls on fertility . They were very infectious . The pandemic of Fertility followed the well-known principles . It should be possible to find Person(0) , where it all started . Some mixture of Neanderthal and HomoSaps genes required for any immune response . HomoSaps without Neanderthal genes will just remain switched-on into high-fertility .
The cure: now that you know what to look for , engineer a prion that locks it .

And the Denisovans?
The third type of humans . The same principle seems to hold . They spread over the Pacific Islands . Fertility controls were deactivated and some nasty things ensued . But there should be clues on how to re-activate the epigenetic controls , or at least de-activate the prions responsible for de-activating the epigenetic controls . Compare with Scottish example .

Come , ladies and gentlemen .
You have enough clues now to solve this problem .
But I will give you a further clue :
Look at the Plant-Herbivore Wars . Some Plants want more humans without limit . Look at the husks of the seeds , not the contents . Especially after boiling .
Malthus was wrong .
Overpopulation is an epidemical disease , not a natural condition .
The overpopulation is caused by a disease , usually plant-induced .
Plant Power , anyone ?
Andre

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Appendix I
Death of the Neanderthals .
Andre Willers.
5 Sep 2009

Synopsis:
The Neanderthals died out because their legs were too short .

Discussion :
See Scientific American Aug 2009 p34 " Twilight of Neanderthals"
Start quote p 39 :
"the energetic cost of locomotion was 32 percent higher in Neanderthals than anatomically modern humans."
End quote .

What does this mean ?
They ran slower . With a heavier body . Heavy infantry vs light infantry .

The multiplier :
Rapidly varying climatic effects pushed Neanderthal communities into 3 subgroups (p37) , Western Europe , Southern Europe and Western Asia . These types of communities survived the genetic isolation in previous episodes by the occasional migration of males . It only takes a few males to revitalize genetic diversity .
Males' role in the scheme of things . Cf equivalent occurrences in Pacific islands
circa 17th and 18th centuries .

But humans were cursorial raptors .
Adapted to long-distance chases .
They inderdicted enough Neanderthal males trying to reach other enclaves to ensure a genetic diversity collapse .

Dogs .
Dogs (wolves) were fellow travelers with humans . Not domesticated then (and some think never really domesticated . Dogs can still interbreed with wolves . There has been no fundamental genome change . Genetically , dogs are still undomesticated . Notice how fast they go feral .) .

Humans could run with them and the chase enforced a pack-leadership type of social organization .
Wolves were (and are)smart enough to change their behaviour to ensure their survival. Both humans and wolves ate better if they shared prey according to pack protocols .

Humans-Dogs (wolves).
This partnership proved fatal to Neanderthals .
1.Genetic diversity was fatally impaired by interdiction of groups of males trying to travel to another enclave . While a bunch of Neanderthals could see off a bunch of humans , they still had to eat . And the faster dogs and humans chased all game away .

Or , more likely , let the Neanderthals make the kill (usually whooly rhinocerous) , then chase them away from the carcase . They could do this because they could run faster and for longer and had projectile weapons (spears) . The really classical advantage of mobility .

These would have been small groups of adventurous humans . Juveniles . the equivalent of soccer yobbos.

2.The Human-dog system enveloped the Neanderthal enclaves and simply removed their food supply .

3. MHC and dogs .
Dogs (or semi-wild wolves) would have learned to recognize the scent of Neanderthals . These would have been exterminated as enemies of the Pack .
The only surviving Neanderthal genomic material would be in those with MHC tolerable to dogs .

For some reason , Anatolian Sheepdogs keep on popping up in my mind . These were and are actually the only surviving , working wolf-killers , but they might have learned to tolerate Neanderthal MHC . (On the principle of the enemy of my enemy is my friend .)

So , if you were looking for some Neanderthal genes , the wilds of Anatolia would be a good place to look . Especially if there are lot of Anatolian sheep-dogs around . The Neanderthal anatomical features would have been very diluted .
Ie , it would not have been genetic incompatibility that prevented miscegenation , but the dogs not tolerating an alien .

These would long predate Bronze age , Aryan , Celtic , Persian , Greek , Roman or Turkic populations .
Old , old .

4.Neanderthals could not compete
Because wolves would not adopt them into the pack . They were not cursorial raptors. Their legs were too short .

5. Now do you see why humans run ?
Running releases aromatic compounds (pheromones , MHC's , etc) that defines a person as human . Your dog requires walkies not just for exercise , but to reassure himself that you are still a member of the pack . Humans are now so washed , deodorized and scented that a poor dog can only recognize his fuehrer if he sweats a bit .

The same is true for inter-human reactions .
Huddling together in gymnasiums .

Or even intra-human reactions .
The parts of a human interacting with each other , defining boundaries .
But all your organs still need chemical communication to tell each other they are part of the same pack .

6. The loneliness of the long-distance runner .
Actually , he is not lonely at all . He is enveloped in a cloud of sweat and aromatic chemicals that tells his identity and position in the pack . His ancestors are all with him . His footfalls entrain him .

Hence the effects of even slight breezes . Washing away the effluvium . A top athlete will perform better with a slight breeze from behind (reinforcing) , while the others will perform better with a breeze to the side or from front . (Reducing self-limitation.)

A heavier breeze from behind will actually reduce performance of the top athlete . These boundaries can be calculated exactly .

See Tim Noakes on fatigue and other self-limiting mechanisms . Olfactory and aural mechanisms are major pack governing systems .

7. School curricula
Can you see why running fast or long is so important to humans ? It defines them .
Thousands of years later , and children are still measured by these skills . Major planet-wide competitions are held .

8. Click , Chi and running and breathing .
Pronounce Chi the correct , old way :
!xi : A tongue click on exhalation.
!xo : A tongue click on inhalation.

In long distance , endurance running this measures the amount of oxygen inhaled or CO2 exhaled , depending on the patterns of clicks and tongue conformations .

And all those Eastern Mystical Ways ?
The force of Chi ?
Just another click .

A running song would automatically evolve in click-language in optimal configurations . A fast chasing song , or a slowlong-chase song or a rushing song . All automatically balancing O2/CO2 with slow-twitch/fast twitch muscle requirements .

You can see how songs evolved . Nobody is going to sit around saying !xi - !xo at every inhalation-exhalation . (Except the demented priesthood) . The rest simply made up songs (working ditties ) . The origins of mantras .

"Om mane padme sum" a well known mantra .
"!xm !xm!xn !xp!xd(left twist of tongue) !xme(right twist of tongue) !xsm(a fat click with a left twist to the tongue,recovering from the previous right twist of the tongue )

Combat : They were formidable heavy infantry . See Etruscans below .

As you can see , not a language for faint-tongued .

9.Click-poetry .
From the Lescaux caves : a free translation :
"!xp-!xp-!xop joined the thunder of the hooves . But I still see her shy backward look and hear her in the hesitant patter of the wind in the trees ."

10. Etruscans .
The indications are that Etruscans were remnants of Neanderthal genetic mixtures that fled from Anatolia circa 1200 BC .

Markers :
1.Big noses .
Neanderthals were cold-adapted . Over at least 500 000 years of climatic vicissitudes . This is a very strong positive adaptation to dry climates , whether cold or hot . Genes for this would have spread rapidly .
Greek noses were straight . Roman noses were , well , Roman .
So the Etruscans came in before the Greek irruption .
Roman noses came from the Etruscans (like most else Roman) .

2. Click language
Note the puzzling lack of recognizable inscriptions on their many tombs .
The inscriptions are there , but just not recognized .
Try Click-resonances as described above and in previous posts .

3. Suffixes in Latin .
A typical result of a click ur-language . The vowels are the opening and closing of the jaw after click , with some twisting and guttural effects .

4. Combat styles .
Heavy infantry .Most telling . Most people assume that the Roman Heavy Infantry style comes from the Greek Hoplites . Actually, it comes from the Etruscan , and there is some evidence that the Greeks learned a lot about this from the Etruscans .

Why else trade with them ? Greeks were Yankee or Viking traders : they only traded if they could not take .

So , if you want Neanderthal genes , go to Tuscany .

PS. Tuscan hounds (ie Anatolian dogs) were renowned in Roman days .Still is .

Nice doggie .

Andre
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