tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744143356678453071.post2650407196639249400..comments2024-03-29T04:58:20.903-05:00Comments on Science Decoded: SFSYO: Scientist of the Month Rebecca Wragg SykesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10615368861635447747noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744143356678453071.post-25831708053698426222015-01-21T04:16:23.160-06:002015-01-21T04:16:23.160-06:00I've got to say Rebecca, you sound like you...I've got to say Rebecca, you sound like you're working so hard to make it work and fund your PHD, surely an inspiration to us all! Personal Trainer Guy Putneyhttp://www.themphmethod.com/about/studios/putney-performancenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744143356678453071.post-8606270944445753532013-02-12T15:54:51.821-06:002013-02-12T15:54:51.821-06:00>>>
They had one type of tool that we c...>>> <br /><br />They had one type of tool that we call 'handaxes': big, carefully shaped pieces with sharp edges all around, that they held in their hands. They used these for a lot of different tasks, and carried them long distances like a personal tool kit. If they ran out of stone, they could even take more flakes off the handaxe to use as tools.<br /><br />We haven't found anything that looks like a spoon we would recognise, but this might be because they were not eating anything as wet as soup or stew. We used to think based on their bone chemistry that they mostly ate meat, probably roasted on fires, but recently we found some tiny remains of cooked grains on some Neanderthal teeth. This shows that they didn't only eat meat, but they probably mostly ate food with their hands, like many people in lots of cultures do today. <br /><br />We know that Neanderthals made tools out of materials other than stone too: we have found bone tools in some sites, but it seems like they didn't do this very often. But we can see from the polishes on many stone tools that they spent a lot of time carving wood, including to make things like knife handles which they stuck together with birch bark pitch, cooked in fires. At one amazing site in Spain there is very unusual preservation which created impressions where softer materials in the cave filling had rotted away. There is the impression of most of a tree the Neanderthals brought in probably for fire wood, but also the shape of something that might have been a plate, and what looks like a wooden knife: you can see a photo of a cast made from the impression on this website http://averyremoteperiodindeed.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/mousterian-wooden-spade-from-abric.html<br /><br />I hope you enjoyed my answers! If you have any more questions just let me know. Now I'm going to play some Xbox after my dinner!<br />Becky Wragg Sykeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12856568750789804570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744143356678453071.post-84889265700573914032013-02-12T15:53:56.052-06:002013-02-12T15:53:56.052-06:00Hi there 1P! Thanks for your excellent questions, ...Hi there 1P! Thanks for your excellent questions, I'll try to answer them.<br /><br />1) Knowing which caves to look for can be quite tricky. Some of the first Neanderthal caves were found because people were doing quarrying or mining for the rocks where caves are naturally found. Actually, the site that this ancient human species is named after, the "Neander Thal" (or Neander Valley) in Germany was being quarried in 1856 when the first bones were found by workmen, who thought they were cave bears. <br /><br />Now when we are looking for new sites, we might do research into old documents to see if people recorded finding bones of extinct animals, which means the cave could be the right age. Some projects even try to work out the kind of place Neanderthals would have preferred to live: somewhere with water nearby, stone for tools, and good views for hunting animals. Then the researchers go out and survey the landscape to see if they can find signs of new caves, like depressions in the ground.<br /><br />Many of the caves found in the early 20th century with Neanderthal archaeology are still being excavated: we have realised since the first days of research that you have to be very careful when you dig, because the more information you record and the more finds you keep, the more detailed things we can find out. This means that cave excavations today happen very slowly compared to 150 years ago when they used dynamite!<br /><br />2) Neanderthals used quite a few different kinds of tools. You are pretty close in your guesses too: they did use what we call "hammerstones": round cobbles of rock that they used to hit pieces very carefully off a larger stone block, which they then made tools from. This is called 'knapping'. The bits that came off are called 'flakes', and the Neanderthals could use them straight away for tasks like cutting meat (freshly knapped stone can be very sharp). Or they might take a flake they made and take more little pieces off it to give it a blunter edge, for a job like scraping a skin for them to wear - we are pretty sure they had to wear some clothes during the times it got very cold. And we know they worked skins because we can see unique polishing marks on the tools we’ve found.<br /><br />>>>Becky Wragg Sykeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12856568750789804570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7744143356678453071.post-36817774461008323332013-02-09T08:41:54.427-06:002013-02-09T08:41:54.427-06:00Hi Dr. Becky, Thank you for being our Scientist o...Hi Dr. Becky, Thank you for being our Scientist of the Month. How do you know what caves to look in for Neanderthal tools? What kind of tools did they use? We think hammers and spoons. It's cool that you like to play Xbox. From 1PAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com