Staring into the gloom, I imagine the cave's ancient inhabitants, wrapped in
ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ bear skins, huddled near a fire. The haunches of a reindeer roast in the fire.
ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ A mother nurses her infant. Children playfully throw pieces of bone into
ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ the flames. An old woman tends the wounds of a hunter with an herbal
ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ointment. The strong smells of smoke, unwashed bodies, and rotting
ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ carcasses thicken the air.
ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ Until recently, nobody would have assumed that the above passage (Rick Gore,
pp.6) was about how the Neandertals lived. However, recent studies have shown that
Neandertals are smarter than we first thought.
ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ The geography of the Neandertals domain was quite odd. 230,000 years ago
Europe was filled with caves, marshes, and grasslands. It was a very harsh and cold
wilderness. The Neandertals were in existence right in the middle of the Ice Age, and
although occasional warm periods would create subtropical conditions as far north as
England for thousands of years, the glaciers would always return and the Neandertals
would always be forced south again.
The Neandertals could be found as far north as
England and as far south as Spain, from Gibralter to Uzbekistan.
ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ Neandertal bones have been found in the Neander Valley and Dusseldorf Germany,
in Altamura, Italy and Vindija, Croatia. These are major sites for the European caves the
Neandertals lived in. Although the Neandertals went to the southern tip of Italy, they
never crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Africa. They migrated from central Europe to
central Asia to the Middle East and always came back. Their main mode of moving
around was on their feet, and they usually travelled in bands of no more than 30 people.
ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ ÃÂÃ The Neandertals had broad noses, and scientists think this was to warm the cold
air. They also...