Those Upscale Neanderthals: Cave paintings, Eagle talon ornaments, and Seafaring boats?

Cueva de Nerja. Image: Luzzyacentillo, Wikimedia Commons

Cave Paintings

 Did Neanderthals paint images of seals on cave walls near Malaga, Spain? If so, it would be a stunning find. Our Homo sapiens ancestors created the oldest previously known cave paintings 30,000 years ago: the beautiful Chauvet paintings in southern France. The newly discovered paintings in the Nerja Caves near Malaga in southern Spain are, surprisingly, estimated to be around 43,000 ago - 13,000 years older than those of Chauvet.

However, there is one small problem: as far as we know, Homo sapiens was not known to be in that region of Spain 43,000 years ago. This strongly suggests Neanderthals created the paintings and thus possessed imagination and skill not previously attributed to them.

The paintings are believed to represent seals that would have been part of the Mediterranean Neanderthal diet. The seal paintings and additional views of the cathedral-like Nerja Caves can be seen here.

Researchers will attempt to confirm when the paintings were created by determining the age of the pigments. Some specialists caution Homo sapiens may have been in southern Spain during that time after all and could have painted the images.

Eagle Talon Ornaments

Recent evidence discovered by researchers from Trent University in Ontario, Canada and the Université Bordeaux in France suggests Neanderthals wore eagle talons as ornaments or jewelry. According to the researchers:

"… it seems reasonable to argue that Neanderthals in France and Italy regularly used terminal phalanges of birds of prey. … One possibility is that they were used as ornaments...”

The abstract published in PlosOne concludes:

Here we show that, in France, Neanderthals used skeletal parts of large diurnal raptors presumably for symbolic purposes… The presence of similar objects in other Middle Paleolithic contexts in France and Italy suggest that raptors were used as means of symbolic expression by Neanderthals in these regions.

Images of the eagle talons are here. 

Seafaring Boats

Not only could Neanderthals have painted images on caves walls and made talon ornaments, they may have also built seafaring boats!

Neanderthal stone tools have been found “on the Greek islands of Lefkada, Kefalonia and Zakynthos.” Until recently, it was believed that these islands were connected to the mainland during the Paleolithic which would have allowed Neanderthals to spread there easily. Now, researchers at the University of Patras in Greece believe they have ruled out this option. In a study published in the Journal of Archeological Science, the researchers found that “…when Neanderthals were in the region, the sea would have been at least 180 metres deep.”

If Neanderthals indeed reached these Mediterranean islands by boat, their seafaring would have reached distances from 5 to 12 kilometers from shore. They may have also reached Crete, an impressive 40-kilometer journey. How Neanderthal seafaring may have developed is suggested in the abstract:

Seafaring most likely started some time between 110 and 35 ka BP and the seafarers were the Neanderthals. Seafaring was encouraged by the coastal configuration, which offered the right conditions for developing seafaring skills according to the “voyaging nurseries” and “autocatalysis” concepts.

Neanderthals painting in cavernous cathedral-like caves, wearing furs and talon necklaces, feasting on seafood, and paddling boats in to reach pristine Mediterranean islands - now that's a new image of these “cave men.” Being called a Neanderthal may become upscale. 

SUNDAY PALEO / March 11, 2012

View of the Anthropocene. In this case, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Image: NASA Earth Observatory

THE ANTHROPOCENE

One year ago, I posted on how the proposal for a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, got its start:

Paul Crutzen coined the term “anthropocene” while attending a scientific conference. When the chairman kept using the term Holocene to describe the current epoch, Crutzen exclaimed “'Let's stop it, we are no longer in the Holocene. We are in the Anthropocene.'" 

Although the epoch has not been formally approved, it is catching attention. Time magazine has just named it one of their 10 Ideas That Are Changing Your Life. I picked up an issue, flipped to the article and was nonplussed to read the title: Nature is Over. What led the author, Bryan Walsh, to take this disturbing view?

Human activity now shapes the earth more than any other independent geologic or climatic factor.

True. This essentially is the definition of the Anthropocene, also known as the Age of Man or the Age of Humankind. Walsh quotes Crutzen:

Human dominance of biological, chemical, and geological processes on Earth is already an undeniable reality. It is no longer us against 'Nature.' Instead, it's we who decide what nature is and what it will be."

Walsh continues:

Humans have been changing the planet ever since the dawn of agriculture 10,000 years ago, when Homo sapiens began altering the land - and the plants and animals growing on it - rather than simply living on it as hunter and gatherers. 

Is Walsh's conclusion, "There's no getting back to the Garden," correct? Should we even try? What is the role for nature in the relentless Anthropocene? Is environmentalist Stewart Brand correct: "We are as gods. And we have to get good at it?" Write and send your impressions.

PALEO DIET

As noted in a previous SUNDAY PALEO, Berlin, Germany was the first to have a Paleo restaurant.  Soon, ‘Palæo’, a "24-hour takeaway," will be opening in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Danish menu is posted here. According to founder Thomas Rode Andersen:

"It's all about going back to something original, going back to what we are designed to eat and the way our bodies are designed to work..."

CBS Miami recently ran video segment titled Paleolithic Diet Gaining Modern Followers:

MODERN DISEASES

Although gluten-free is just one step toward Paleo, it is important to be informed on gluten allergy and gluten sensitivity. These disorders allows us to understand at least one of the mechanisms underlying the impact of grains on health. While gluten allergy is a verified medical disorder, there is still some debate on gluten sensitivity. However, the "evidence is mounting" as noted in the recently posted Wall Street Journal article New Guide to Who Really Shouldn't Eat Gluten:

Evidence is mounting that gluten sensitivity does exist. ... And in a study published last year, researchers in Australia showed in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that subjects with suspected gluten sensitivity had substantially fewer symptoms on a gluten-free diet than control subjects who unknowingly ingested gluten.

PALEO RECIPES

• Pear and Walnut Salad
• gingery chicken and bok choy soup

URBAN FARMING

Urban farming is one way to bring natural foods (from which Paleo foods can be selected) to our towns and cities. Here is a video from The Appeal of Urban Farming:

Related Posts

• Welcome to the Anthropocene: Humankind's layer on the Earth
• The Stockholm Memorandum and the strain of the Anthropocene 
• Gluten Sensitivity on the Rise
• Guest Post: The Case for Avoiding Gluten

SUNDAY PALEO / March 4, 2012

ANTHROPOLOGY

Here’s some interesting archeological news: hunter-gathers built groups of “long-term dwellings” in the Middle East 10,000 years before farming.  Science News reports that “mobile hunter-gatherers” living 20,000 years ago “hunkered down for months at a time in spots that featured rivers, lakes and plentiful game.”  

Discoveries in and around hut remnants at a Stone Age site called Kharaneh IV include hearths, animal bones and caches of pierced seashells and other apparently ritual items.

Furthermore, archaeologist Lisa Maher:

“… expects evidence of additional four- to five-person huts will turn up at the site, which is about the size of four U.S. football fields.”

Since the first grinding stones did not appear until around 15,000 years ago, grains were not the reason these Paleolithic ancestors were able derive enough food from the nearby land to allowed them to stay put. I suspect, in addition to the plentiful game suggested by the researchers, improved hunting and fishing technology allowed these larger groupings to develop.

Chesapeak Bay. Image: NASAWhile the dwellings described above were being built in the Middle East (give or take a few thousand years), other Paleolithic ancestors may have been making their way to North America. Not from Siberia, but from Iberia!  Acccording to anthropologist Dennis Stanford, they settled in what is now Virginia. A hunting blade found near mastodon bones is among the evidence being uncovered. Brian Vastag, of The Washington Post National, writes:

A mastodon relic found near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay turned out to be 22,000 years old, suggesting that the blade was just as ancient. Whoever fashioned that blade was not supposed to be here.

According to our current understanding, the first Paleo Americans arrived from Asia by crossing Beringia to reach Alaska. However, some archeologists and anthropologist suspect that:

… mysterious Stone Age European people known as the Solutreans paddled along an ice cap jutting into the North Atlantic. They lived like Inuits, harvesting seals and seabirds. 

FITNESS

There is little argument that our Paleolithic ancestors were fitter than we are. Just imagine searching for food almost daily, maintaining a fire, porting water, and repairing your shelter. Actually, using modern hunter-gatheres as a guide, our Paleolithic ancestors did all this and still had more leisure time than we do. It was their lifestyle that kept them fit: natural exercise and rest, though certainly not on a fixed schedule.

Lance C. Dalleck, Ph.D., a specialist in cardiac rehabilitation at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, calls it their “‘activity pattern’” way of life”. In A Paleolihic Program for the 21st Century, he recommends replicating their “activity pattern” as a means of avoiding disease:

Some have suggested that replicating the activity patterns of indigenous humans—to the extent that this is possible and practically achievable in today’s society—could be an effective way to reduce the incidence of these diseases. This article examines this premise and offers practical recommendations for exercise frequency, intensity, duration and mode for realigning our daily physical activities with the classic levels expected within our unchanged Paleolithic genome.

Dalleck breaks down the hunter-gatherer’s fitness “activity pattern” into four aspects: Daily Physical Activity, Primitive Resistance Training, Interval Training, and Comprehensive Periodization. He also list modern activities that can be used to meet these goals.

If you are pursuing natural fitness in the natural world, consider the work of the leading Paleolithic movement specialist, Erwan Le Corre of MovNat. Le Corre breaks down “evolutionary fitness” into three physical activities: locomotive skills, manipulative skills, and combative skills. In The Evolutionary Foundation of Naturalness, Le Corre describes his approach and also provides a great graphic on the activities used to develop these skills.

While Le Corre’s approach is usually performed in the natural environment, Mark Sisson's plan may be done with limited equipment at a nearby park or at home. The program focuses on 5 movements:

Humans have been squatting, horizontal pressing, vertical pressing, climbing, and using their torsos to resist pushing and pulling forces for millions of years.

(We, Homo sapiens spapiens, are about 200,000 years old.)

These authors are not keen on what happens in a gym. However, I find that one can perform many of these physical activities, or their rough equivalents, in a regular gym. In the winter, while some brave frigid weather to exercise outdoors, I take to the gym, wear FiveFingers, and do a combination of “natural” and traditional exercises. 

OK. You’ve done your fitness activities and are developing an “activity pattern” lifestyle. Now, it’s time to cook. An Internet search will lead you to many of the Paleo cookbooks now available, or, you can try the Paleo recipes below.

PALEO RECIPES

• Cumin Spiced Slow Cooked Pork
• chicken thighs with balsamic sautéed fennel and oranges
• Paleo Crab Cakes, A Lunch or Picnic Seafood Patty

Brain Health: Omega-3 fatty acids slow brain shrinkage

New research is revealing the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids on brain health, in particular, on reducing loss of brain volume associated with ageing. This recent news report (PubMed abstract not yet available), adds to previous work by measuring the level of O3 in the subjects red blood cells over a 3-month period and correlating it to total brain volume as measured on MRI. The study of 1,575 subjects compared the brain MRI scans of the 25% with the lowest level of O3 to the rest of the group. According to the WSJ:

… participants with low levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood had slightly smaller brains and scored lower on memory and cognitive tests than people with higher blood levels of omega-3s. The changes in the brain were equivalent to about two years of normal brain aging…

The study is important because of its large size and because the subject’s O3 levels were measured instead of utilizing food diaries for an estimate of O3 intake. However, a more interesting, and perhaps revealing question would have been comparing the subjects in the lowest quartile to those in the highest quartile. This may have revealed omega-3 fatty acids provide an even greater protection from brain volume loss than the two years in the study.

Bottom line: To prevent or slow brain shrinkage, eat your fish or take an omega-3 supplement.

Related Posts

• Brain Health: Omega-3 fatty acids reduce anxiety
• Quote: Adiposity causes inflammation of the hypothalamus
• Inflammation impairs frontal lobe brain function
• Brain Health: Fish oil helps maintain brain volume
• An "Insight of the Decade": Chronic inflammation kills

Update 3/2/2012
Abstract of study published in Neurology

In Search of the Perfect Human Diet

At the age of 24, CJ Hunt had a health crisis; one that led him to explore a number of human diets is search of the best possible choice to achieve a “longer, healthier and happier” life. The movie, In Search of the Perfect Human Diet, documents his journey. Executive Producer CJ Hunt writes:

… the documentary … bypasses common contradictory dietary bias and the recycling of confusion, by filming interviews and explorations with many of the world's top scientists and researchers in the fields of archaeological science, paleo and forensic anthropology, nutrition and metabolism, biomolecular archaeology, and the emerging field of human dietary evolution.

Mark Sisson, of Mark’s Daily Apple, received an advanced copy and posts his review here.

If you, or your loved ones, are interested in reclaiming or improving your health, take the journey with CJ. If you do so, please share your comments on PaleoTerran. I will share my impressions once I obtain a copy. 

SUNDAY PALEO / February 26, 2012

The lip of the world ocean as seem from Rosemary Beach, Florida

THE OCEAN

Climate change, global warming, or whatever you call it, humans will likely adapt. We always have. (I won’t mention conflict and population reduction. Oh, I just did.) In Colorado, as the climate warms, there will be less snow for winter sports but more land conducive to growing grapes. Loose some, win some.

Unfortunately, it’s never that simple. We are not the only ones affected. We know we are loosing many of our great species, such as tigers and polar bears, which our children’s children will never see in the wild. Of course, most of us have never seen them in the wild. But just knowing they are there, somehow confirms who we are. We can’t be that destructive, right?

As some species disappear, others will thrive, for example, marmots. But so will mosquitoes, ticks, rodents and jellyfish. Lacey Johnson of Scientific American writes:

Imagine a planet where jellyfish rule the seas, giant rodents roam the mountains and swarms of insects blur everything in sight.

None of these scenarios are appealing, but let’s focus on jellyfish. Their proliferation is a sign many ocean species are not doing well and the reason appears to be ocean acidification. Lacey Johnson:

Jellyfish populations are also suspected to be swelling because of climate change. In recent years, the creatures have been clogging the nets of fishermen, stinging record numbers of beachgoers and blocking the water intake lines of power plants in at least three countries. Some scientists are linking the phenomenon to warmer waters and ocean acidification caused by high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Ocean acidification will also short-circuit the nervous system of some sea creatures:

Based on several years of observations of how baby coral fishes react to an environment with high levels of dissolved CO2, researchers have found that elevated acidity levels directly interfere with fish neurotransmitter functions, impeding their ability to hear, smell, turn and evade predators.

What effect will ocean acidity have on biodiversity? Researchers analysing biodiversity around sites where CO2 from volcanic activity seeps out of the ocean floor are providing a clue:

Directly above these CO2 seeps, pH plummets to at least 7.8, a value that is expected to occur widely by 2100 and that is substantially lower than the normal level for the area, 8.1. These sites offer a preview of what may happen to seafloor ecosystems as CO2 levels continue to rise, causing ocean water pH to drop. Species diversity was reduced by 30%.

Wait. Are they saying a reduction of ocean species by almost 1/3 in about 90 years?? 

GOOD NEWS

Fortunately, creative activity is occurring throughout the world that may stem this unfavorable prognosis. Hey, even some banks are taking action. According to a recent article on the Environmental News Network:

On behalf of 92 pension funds, asset managers, insurers and banks, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), which holds the world's largest collection of self-reported corporate environmental data, has sent letters to the CEOs of 415 of the world’s largest public companies calling for cost-effective management and reductions of their carbon emissions.

Furthermore,

The largest new signatories include Spain's Banco Santander, Banesto and BBVA from the banking sector, fund manager Henderson and APG the asset manager. There is also a significant number of new signatories in Australia, which passed its Clean Energy Act in November last year, taking the group’s combined assets to over US$10 trillion.

For a frequent dose of progress on the environmental front, try EcoGeek, CleanTechnica, or Grist.

DARK CHOCOLATE

OK. That, was a rough start to Sunday Paleo. Maybe you have given some thought to what your role will be in creating a new future. So, it's time to cheer up.

I am told that one of the answers given by Siri to the question “What is the secret of life?” is: “All available current evidence points to chocolate.” Yes, I know, chocolate was not consumed in the Paleolithic; think of it as Paleo informed by modern knowledge.

Marks Sisson recently posted a great summary on the benefits of chocolate. Here, with a bit of tweaking, is his list. Go to his site for the full flavor.

1. Dark chocolate contains healthy fats.
2. Dark chocolate contains lots of polyphenols, particularly flavanols.
3. Dark chocolate lowers blood pressure.
4. Dark chocolate may lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
5. Dark chocolate reduces insulin resistance.
6. Dark chocolate may improve less severe forms of fatty liver.
7. Dark chocolate increases resistance to UV damage.

You are now ready to pick up some dark chocolate. But which brand? The NorthWest CaveGirls recently tested six dark chocolates:

“Although we brought 12 bars of chocolate, we were only able to taste 6, because – believe it or not- we were chocolated out after that.  Take a look and see which ones won the taste test.”

PALEO RECIPES

 Finally, looking for something more substantial to cook? Try these recipes:

• Rich and Hearty Hungarian Goulash
• Southwestern Frittata
• Paleo Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl: A Hawaiian Inspired Shashimi or Shushi Meal

Related Post

• Ocean Acidification by the Numbers

Quote: "Don't Drink Your Milk"

In no mammalian species, except for humans (and the domestic cat), is milk consumption continued after the weaning period (the period of breast-feeding). Calves thrive on cow milk. Cow milk is for calves.

From the 1977 book "Don't Drink Your MilK" by Frank Oski, MD, Chairman of Pediatrics (1985-1996), Johns Hopkins University

via The Paleo Answer 

SUNDAY PALEO / February 19, 2012

Altay mountains (Belukha), photo by Vít Hněvkovský, 2006 Pohoří Altaj (hora Bělucha)

Did Paleo-Americans originate in the Altay Mountains of southern Siberia?
The first people to move into the western hemisphere, and thus become the first Paleo-Americans, were believed to have crossed Beringia, a land bridge then connecting Asia to Alaska. But, where in Asia did they originate?

According to a report in National Geographic News, investigators collecting genetic samples from ethnic groups in the Altay Mountains in southern Siberia found “a unique genetic mutation” that developed 18,000 year ago and “that also occurs in modern-day northern Native Americans.”

Christine Dell'Amore writes:

This time line also fits with other genetic research showing that the first Altay populations began to leave for North America about 15,000 years ago, most likely reaching the continent via the now submerged Beringia land bridge.

Interestingly, the first pet dog, known by fossils from around 33,000 years ago, was also found in the Altay Mountains. So, if you are an artist drawing the arrival of the first Paleo-Americans, time to add a pet dog to the picture.

Did clearing forests for cropland thousands of years ago start the whole “climate change” thing?
The answer, as suggested from a study of the Congo River basin, appears to be yes.

Humans may have been causing climate change for much longer than we’ve been burning fossil fuels. In fact, the agrarian revolution may have started human-induced climate changes long before the industrial revolution began to sully the skies. How? Through the clearing of forests, which still remains the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. (emphasis added) (Scientific American)

The Bantu farmers of the Congo 3,500 years ago may have cleared forests for two reasons: 

1. provide cropland for “oil palm, pearl millet and yams”
2. provide charcoal for smelting iron used to make tools and weapons

While some are skeptical and find it hard to “imagine that early Bantu farmers with their simple tools and small population were more effective on the destruction of the rainforest than modern farming in Central Africa,” others suspect that early Bantu famers did contribute to forest degradation. (Nature)

Does greater sun exposure lower the risk of stroke?
At the recent American Stroke Association meeting in New Orleans, investigators presented the preliminary results on incidence of stroke in approximately 16,500 persons followed from 2003 and 2007. At an “average follow-up of five years, 351 of the 16,500 experienced a stroke.” According to HealthDay:

McClure's team stacked stroke incidence numbers up against satellite and ground information concerning geographical monthly sunlight patterns going back as much as 15 years.

The investigators compared those within the bottom half in terms of sun exposure to those in the top half and found those with lower exposure where 1.6 times more likely to have suffered a stroke.

Dr. Larry B. Goldstein, not an investigator in the study, noted:

The findings don't surprise me, but it's important to know that this is a study of association and association doesn't prove causality. The fact that here low sun exposure -- and presumably low sun exposure areas will also have low levels of vitamin D -- has been associated with a higher risk for stroke could potentially be explanatory.

More on the Plantagon Greenhouse
In the February 12, Sunday Paleo, I linked to a news item on a vertical greenhouse, known as the Plantagon Greenhouse, currently under construction in Sweden. The image on the news link did not include a picture of the structure itself. Above is an illustraton of the Plantagon from CleanTechnica. Learn more and view videos here. 

Paleo Recipes

• Brightly Colored Vegetable Salad with Chermoula Dressing
• Beef Bulgogi

Quote: Jack LaLanne on nutrition

If man made it, don't eat it. 

Jack LaLanne

via The Paleo Answer by Loren Cordain, Ph.D. 

Quotes: High carb diet and Alzheimer's Disease

 In this paper, we highlight how an excess of dietary carbohydrates, particularly fructose, alongside a relative deficiency in dietary fats and cholesterol, may lead to the development of Alzheimer's disease.”

This leads to cholesterol deficiency in neurons, which significantly impairs their ability to function.”

Other neurodegenerative diseases ... may also be due in large part to this same underlying cause.”

Nutrition and Alzheimer's disease: The detrimental role of a high carbohydrate diet. 
Eur J Intern Med. 2011 Apr;22(2):134-40

Erwan Le Corre of MovNat trains in the wild

Alerady fit? I mean really fit? Take a look at how Erwan Le Corre of MovNat maintains fitness through natural movement in the natural world. 

Sarah Fragoso releases Paleo Pals storybook for children

The storybook, Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship, by Sarah Fragoso has just been published. Visit Sarah's site for more info. 

Peggy Emch, The Primal Parent, recently reviewed the book. She and her 6-year-old daughter Evelyn give it high marks.