mobility of Neanderthals than previously believed. That is, if you
believe 20 kilometers is proof of mobility.
Picture at the cite
A 40,000-year-old tooth is seen in this undated hand out photo
released by Greek Culture Ministry. Analysis of the tooth uncovered in
southern Greece indicates for the first time that Neanderthals may
have traveled more widely than previously thought, paleontologists
announced on Friday, Feb. 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Greek Culture Ministry)
(AP) -- Analysis of a 40,000-year-old tooth found in southern Greece
suggests Neanderthals were more mobile than once thought,
paleontologists said Friday.
Analysis of the tooth - part of the first and only Neanderthal remains
found in Greece - showed the ancient human had spent at least part of
its life away from the area where it died.
"Neanderthal mobility is highly controversial," said
paleoanthropologist Katerina Harvati at the Max Planck Institute for
Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.
Some experts believe Neanderthals roamed over very limited areas, but
others say they must have been more mobile, particularly when hunting,
Harvati said.
Until now, experts only had indirect evidence, including stone used in
tools, Harvati said. "Our analysis is the first that brings evidence
from a Neanderthal fossil itself," she said.
The findings by the Max Planck Institute team were published in the
Journal of Archaeological Science.
The tooth was found in a seaside excavation in Greece's southern
Peloponnese region in 2002.
The team analyzed tooth enamel for ratios of a strontium isotope, a
naturally occurring metal found in food and water. Levels of the metal
vary in different areas.
Eleni Panagopoulou of the Paleoanthropology-Speleology Department of
Southern Greece said the tooth's levels of strontium showed that the
Neanderthal grew up at least 12.5 miles from the discovery site.
"Our findings prove that ... their settlement networks were broader
and more organized than we believed," Panagopoulou said.
Clive Finlayson, an expert on Neanderthals and director of the
Gibraltar Museum, disagreed with the finding's significance.
"I would have been surprised if Neanderthals didn't move at least 20
kilometers (12.5 miles) in their lifetime, or even in a year ... We're
talking about humans, not trees," Finlayson said.
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