#homo neanderthalensis
Neanderthals and cave bear, Rod Ruth, c. 1974
The cave is flooded with sound—the roar of the torches, the howls of the men, the cry of the bear, the clatter of the stones, the echoes off the walls. The smoke blinds, chokes, intensifies the noise and the violence.
The bear’s eyes glint from the flames. She is losing. Blood seeps through the fur of her head. One leg will not move as it should; a boulder crushed it. The cave was quiet and dark before these gibbering fire-holders came—the only warmth was her own, the only sound was her heartbeat. Then fire and stones and sticks rained down. At first it was confusing, now it is terrifying. Another rock strikes her and sparks cloud her vision. The cave feels small now, or rather, it feels as if it’s getting smaller, folding, slowly, steadily, finally, like a great eye closing to go to sleep.
Post link
About Nandy…
So, I’ve had a few people express that my penchant for calling my neanderthal ancestors uncle or granpa ‘Nandy’ is cute or unique, so I just want to clear up the origins of Nandy, because Nandy is actually the name given to a specific neanderthal by his excavators. This individual is Shanidar 1:
He was one of the earliest neanderthals found outside of Neander Thal itself, and is known for being severely disfigured and disabled, but lived to a very advanced age, for a hunter-gatherer. He was excavated in 1957, and was held at the National Museum of Iraq. Sadly, his current whereabouts are unknown, and he may have been destroyed in bombardments by Islamic State, leaving nothing more than casts of his bones.
Shanidar 1, or Uncle Nandy, is better known in popular culture as kind old shaman Creb from Clan of the Cave Bear, where he is lovingly portrayed as a father figure for the main character, a human foundling named Ayla. In the film version, he was portrayed with great empathy by James Remar. Because of this, Nandy is perhaps the most famous neanderthal individual known to us.
Art links:
