Perhaps sometimes there are misconceptions about the Neanderthal. This is often shown in artists portrayals of them. Here are a few to think about.
1. Early Humans were Hairy Creatures
The oldest fossils of humans are either bones or pieces of bones and this makes it absolutely impossible to determine what kind of skin or hair the early people had. Furthermore, some groups of people have more body hair than others but this has never been a reason to believe that early humans had a type of skin that was similar to a modern apes fur.
2. Early Humans had Long Arms
A ‘hairy’ man with long arms makes it quite easy to picture early man evolving from apes. However, just as there is no way to tell how hairy early man was, so too is there no evidence to suggest that they had arms longer than that of modern humans. Quite the contrary, all discernable human fossil arms that have been found are about the same size as that of modern arms.
3. Early Man was a Hunched Over Creature
The Neanderthal Man founded in 1856 did walk hunched over. Does this mean that all early men shuffled along hunched over like apes? Probably not. Also, after a thorough examination it was concluded that almost definitely the Neanderthal man did suffer from arthritis. His stooped over appearance would be normal for a man of his age with his particular bone disease. The other early fossil discoveries of early man have consistently shown a fully erect human. Despite this though, many still favor the more ape-like posture.
4. Early Man had a Small Skull
At one time scientists believed that a man’s brain size indicated how smart he was. Of coarse after gaining more knowledge in this field we know that this is simply not the case. At this time, scientists do not know the actual brain size of the early man yet artists have continued to draw a small head with a large jaw so as to make the early man appear more ape-like. What is interesting is that some of the Cro-Magnum men have larger heads that that of modern man.
5. Early Man was Unintelligent
On the faces of the majority of early man drawings, is a rather stupid expression. Usually the faces appear rather confused, the creature being unable to ponder even the most simple matter. One must keep in mind that these are only the opinion of the artists. Nobody can tell what the skin and muscles looked like from the remaining bones that have been discovered.
I will have more misconceptions (at least what I feel are)to come in the future.
Apostle
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