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Re: Neanderthals & race
Kathy41144 (kathy41144@aol.com)
31 Mar 1995 02:01:00 -0500
You have presented a very thought provoking hypothese. People with light
skin would be much more able to absorb the limited light in Northern
latitudes and be selected for. There is one theory that may account for
the demise of the Neandertal, although some of their traits may certainly
have survived. They had a very short life span; the females sometimes
living to only about 20 years. Their socialization ability, therefore
would have been limited, with each new generation having to learn and
relearn many cultural and survival techniques, unlike the socalled Cro
Magnon, whose longer lifespan allowed them to pass onto their offspring
the new innovations in tools, (blades vs. mousterian) , art, dwellings,
and even possibly belief systems. This too, is only a theory. But I
truly feel that the Neandertal was a very special species, able to survive
in almost intolerable climatic conditions for a long period of time and
should never be regarded as primitive or "cave man".
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