Neanderthals carefully organized their homes

[n2doc]

By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent

They are frequently portrayed as primitive cave-dwelling brutes, but it seems that Neanderthals were the original home makers.

A study of archaeological remains at a site where Neanderthals lived up to 100,000 years ago has shown that they carefully organised their shelters.

Activities like butchering animals, making tools and social gatherings were all conducted in different areas of the cave.

It suggests that rather than being messy primitives, Neanderthals were remarkably house proud in a way that will seem familiar to modern humans.

The new evidence was found in a cave in Balzi Rossi, Italy, where Neanderthals lived for thousands of years.

more

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/archaeology/10492170/Neanderthals-were-pioneers-of-domestic-bliss.html

[Scuba]

1. What? They didn't have teenagers?

[LiberalEsto]

2. They found copies of Real, Real, Real Simple magazine in the caves nt

[Laelth]

3. Nifty. Thanks for posting. k&r n/t

-Laelth

[Warpy]

4. Caves were likely used only part of the year, IMO

but none of their temporary housing as they followed ripening plants has survived. It's a pity, they were such innovators in so many areas that it would be fascinating to see how they lived.

That they got the point of proper sanitation proves they were at least our equals.

[Thor_MN]

5. "proves they were at least our equals"

That seems to lack some necessary qualifiers. There's rafts of things we have they they did not manage to acquire, so to say they are fully our equals seems overly generous. When you come to brass tacks though, other than some minor genetic input to current humans, they are extinct.

[Warpy]

6. What did Homo Sap accomplish in Africa during the period?

Not a hell of a lot.

[Thor_MN]

7. They survived.

Homo Sapiens 1 : Neanderthals 0

And interesting that you now added a qualifier "during that period".