Unique Neandertal arm morphology due to scraping, not spearing

Unique arm morphology in Neandertals was likely caused by scraping activities such as hide preparation, not spear thrusting as previously theorized, according to research published July 18 in the open access journal PLoS ONE.

The researchers, led by Colin Shaw of the University of Cambridge, took muscle measurements of modern men performing three different spear thrusting tasks and four different scraping tasks. They found that muscle activity was significantly higher on the left side of the body for spear thrusting tasks relative to the right side of the body. This does not explain the observed Neandertal morphology, though, which shows dominant strength on the right side, casting doubt on the hypothesis that spear thrusting was responsible for the observed asymmetry.

When the study participants performed scraping tasks, however, the activity was much higher on their right side compared to their left, suggesting that scraping behavior may be the actual source of the arm morphology asymmetry and offering interesting insight into Neandertal behavior.

Shaw explains, "The skeletal remains of Neandertals suggests that they were doing something intense or repetitive, or both, that significantly impacted their lives. While hunting was important to Neandertals, our research suggests that much of their time was spent performing other tasks, such as preparing the skins of large animals. If we are right, it changes our picture of the daily activities of Neandertals." sciencedaily.com

Journal Reference:
Shaw CN, Hofmann CL, Petraglia MD, Stock JT, Gottschall JS. Neandertal Humeri May Reflect Adaptation to Scraping Tasks, but Not Spear Thrusting. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (7): e40349 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0040349. Link

Actualización 20-07-12. La asimetría ósea de los neandertales sugiere hábitos más domésticos que cinegéticos.
Un nuevo estudio sugiere que nuestros primos extintos, los neandertales, podrían haber dedicado menos tiempo viviendo la dura vida de la caza y más para llevar a cabo tediosas tareas domésticas.
En un estudio óseo comparativo entre sapiens y nuestros “primos” se ha destacado que los neandertales tienen significativamente el brazo derecho superdesarrollado. En algunos casos llegan a tener la extremidad superior derecha un 50% más robusta que el brazo izquierdo. Algunos antropólogos han sugerido el uso continuado de las lanzas en la caza mayor para explicar esta diferencia.

Un nuevo estudio publicado en la revista PLoS One sugiere que los neandertales podrían haber pasado horas raspando pieles para protegerse de las inclemencias del tiempo, explicando así la asimetría ósea .

La asimetría de los brazos de los neandertales es sólo comparable a la de algunos deportistas como pudieran ser los tenistas, según el Dr. Colin Shaw, del grupo... paleorama.wordpress.com/

Actualización 08-08-12. Neanderthal Spearing and Scraping Colin Shaw Cambridge.
Vídeo el 20/07/2012 por Shawzerama añadido a Paleo Vídeos > Prehistoria Universal > L.R.2.4 nº 26.