Neanderthals may have lived in caves, but they were fully human. http://www.flickr.com/photos/niravameen/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Archeologists digging in southern Spain have unearthed evidence that Neanderthals wore make-up or body paint. They used seashells as containers to store various colors, which they created using complex recipes. There is also evidence that they sculpted other seashells and wore them as jewelry.
The significance of this discovery is that it shows higher level thinking and creativity that many scientists assume was not present in Neanderthals, whom they consider to be a sub-human evolutionary link between humans and apes, or a branch of the supposed evolutionary tree that died out.
But creation scientists believe neanderthals were fully human, a tribe of descendants of Adam and Eve.
Other Neanderthal-related fun facts to know and tell:
- Neanderthals had brains as large as “modern humans,” and maybe even larger.
- Some of them may have engaged in medical procedures to save the lives of other Neanderthals. There is evidence of at least one amputation of a Neanderthal man’s lower arm, which healed and did not cause his death.
- They were skilled hunters and toolmakers, and they cooked their food.
- Examination of their skulls indicates they could talk.
- They buried their dead, sometimes holding flowers.
Dinosaurs on Noah's Ark 