Our artistic ancestors

[Peter Bentley 彭达理]

WASHINGTON (AFP).- Markings dating back 40,000 years suggest Neanderthals were considerably more sophisticated than previously thought, researchers say. They reached their conclusions after the discovery of engravings deep in Gorham's Cave in Gibraltar -- the first Neanderthal cave etchings found anywhere in the world. Are the deep grooves of horizontal and vertical criss-crossing lines art? Archaeologists are refusing to go that far, but they say, it shows Neanderthals -- contrary to long-held beliefs -- did possess the capacity for abstract thought and expression. "It brings Neanderthals even closer to us," said Professor Clive Finlayson, the director of the Gibraltar Museum and coordinator of the international team that carried out the research. "It talks of high cognitive mental capacities in Neanderthals which are equivalent to humans." The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The paper, "A rock engraving made by Neanderthals in Gibraltar," was authored by a team that included specialists in the Neanderthal field such as professors Joaquin Rodriguez-Vidal, Francesco d'Errico and Francisco Giles Pacheco. "The production of purposely made painted or engraved designs on cave walls is recognized as a major cognitive step in human evolution, considered exclusive to modern humans," the authors wrote. D'Errico, of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), called it "the first example of cave art, an abstract representation made by Neanderthals and deeply engraved in the rock in a part of the cave they lived in." The carving, discovered after years of excavation at Gorham's Cave, was eventually found beneath a Neanderthal sediment level that was itself discovered below a modern human sediment level. It was the first area of bedrock that was exposed by the researchers, suggesting there may be other engravings yet to be discovered. Not a casual mark Researchers also tried to learn how Neanderthals might have made the engraving. They used stone Neanderthal tools to show that each groove required consistent, repetitive strokes in a single direction. "To produce one of the grooves required 60 strokes, always in one direction," Finlayson said, adding that the whole of the etching required up to 317 strokes. "We were immediately showing that this was not a casual mark. This required effort." The engraving was found in the farthest reaches of Gorham's Cave, located in a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, where previous evidence suggests Neanderthals retired to rest. "If there's going to be a place where you're going to have spare time to do these things, it's going to be there," Finlayson said. It is by no means the first study to find that Neanderthals were closer to our species than previously thought. Close examination of the same cave in Gibraltar revealed that Neanderthals may have caught, butchered and cooked wild pigeons long before modern humans became regular consumers of bird meat, a study earlier this month said. Other recent studies have shown that in addition to meat, Neanderthals ate vegetables, berries and nuts, that they took care of their elders and used sophisticated bone tools. An enigmatic branch of the human family tree, Neanderthals lived in parts of Europe, Central Asia and Middle East for up to 300,000 years but vanished from the fossil record about 30-40,000 years ago. © 1994-2014 Agence France-Presse

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Seems  we  have  some   far -distant   artistic  roots !

BTW  - your   DNA is   about  3%  Neanderthal   

National  Geographic August features  a neolithic   city  and  temple  in the  far    north of  Scotland  that   pre-dates the  pyramids   and  even  Stonehenge !

And  I  just  got a  video  about  the Gobelkli  Tepe  temple  in Turkey  which  dates  back to  10,000  BCE,  not to mention  religious burial  tombs  in  the  Golan Heights   which  pre-date  Abraham  by  a  millennium or  more

If  any of  you subscribe to  the  Scientific American  (which is  pretty much  as   good as it  gets  in objective science   reporting these  days) the September  issue  covers  the   7 million  year  evolution  of  humans ( and  all the  various  other  "human"  species  that  did  not make  it . 

Forget  about  "creationism"  forever.   The  missing  links  have  all been  found

We are  not  alone....

Cheers

Peter

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Peter,
    You mean "We WERE not alone"; our line (Cro-Magnon) massacred all the others, while absorbing some of their DNA through cross-breeding. 

   Actually, in the Mount Carmel Caves about 10 miles south of Haifa, we have found remains of Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon Man living together about 35,000-30,000 years ago. It is very obvious from the evidence that they were inhabiting the site together  peacefully (Not that Cro-Magnon wiped out Neanderthal and replaced them, as had been assumed when the cave was excavated).
 
   Why are you beating a dead horse? Who on the Forum believes in 'Creationism'? According to Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik z"l, one of the greatest Orthodox/UltraOrthodox Rabbis of the 20th C., there was no contradiction between Evolution and Torah Judaism, and that all Jews 2,000 years ago (time of Jesus) believed that the Creation stories in Genesis (there are two), were allegories.

 Best,
 Joey

[Peter Bentley 彭达理]

Hi  Joey

The  forum is  definitely  not the  place to  debate   such  deep  way-outside  SB  topics

But I  warmly  welcome  you  to  debate  with me  privately  on  direct  email ( you know  my  private address)

FYI :  I have  just spent a  small  fortune  on  Amazon    buying  books  on the parting of  ways  of  Christianity per  se  and  the  original Judeastic  beliefs  about  Jesus

This  is  definitely  NOT a    matter  for   Forum  discussion ( and NOT  the   Forum  message  system)

I also   welcome   private  debate    from other   Forum members,  but  if  so  let's  keep it  totally  outside the   Forum

Cheers

Peter

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Dear Peter,
    That's fine, but then why did you post it?           
I'm a bit confused...
Best,
 Joey

[Peter Bentley 彭达理]

Hi Joey

Simply  to   raise  a  topic  of  deep  thinking and  to  stir  us  up a  little on a  side-related    art/history  - related   topic

Just  a  nudge  here  and  there  ( as  long as  it  does  not take  up  a  lot  of  Forum  space)

Any / all  interested  persons   are  free to  discuss  off-line

But  please  keep  it  off-line  : use  private  email

Cheers

Peter

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Fair enough, Peter. Will (or Will not) do.
If I'm flying on Dragonair from Hong Kong (HKG) via Chongqing (CKG) to Xian (XIY), I'm in First and only have carry-on luggage, and have the concierge at Shangrila print my boarding pass, how much time should I need to comfortably get through security and to my flight on Sat. aft.? I have an 18:30 fl. to CKG from HKG.
  Do I need an hour or will I need 90 min.? I am talking about from arrival at the airport via limo (is that the EASIEST way? I don't want to save money. I want to save time and hassle.)
Thanks for all advice.
Best,
joey

[Peter Bentley 彭达理]

Hi  Joey

For  an  18.30   flight  you  should  leave the  Shangrila  very  latest   16.30

These  days  of  retirement  leisure  I  start off   from home  3  hours  before  take-off time. but  in the  past days of  business  I have  left the  office  90  minutes  before  take-off time,  which  gave  me  (literally)  just a   10 minute  safety   window.

Quickest   and  most dependable   (and  cheapest ! )   way  to   HK  airport is the   Airport Express  from Kowloon Station :  just  10 mins  by taxi and trains  every  12 minutes,  20 minutes  train  ride. 

Taxi to the  airport  can take   45 -  60 minutes  depending on traffic

But  why  flying  via  Chongqing   when you  can  fly direct from  HK ?

You may - with luck -  get  to  CQ  on time  because  KA  (Dragonair  flights)   starting  in HK  are  usually  dependable , but  sometimes   there's a  huge  backlog  late  PM  in HK   due  to   sudden   air  traffic  control in China  ("military  exercises  near  Shanghai"  which  often  seem to happen  Saturdays  : last time  that happened a  couple of   months  ago  I  was  stuck in SH for  9 hours and  the  knock-on effect  hit many  other KA  flights  regionally)  Then  the  plane  sits  on  the  runway  for  an hour  or  so  before  take-off,  particularly  at  weekends

But  CQ - Xian  is anyone's  guess ....

Late day domestic   flights  have  usually   traveled  via   several  cities  Xian- A - B- C- D- CQ- Xian   and  so the   time  delays   build  up en  route,  so   they  can  run  several  hours  late   in the  worst case late day.

Plan  at least  one  hour , safer 2  hours, to  get through  customs / immigration  in CQ   and   get from the  international  terminal to the   domestic  terminal.  I have  not  been to  CQ  for    ages,  but I'm sure there  are now  two  terminals    far  apart. 

These  days  domestic  flights sometimes  tend to close the  check-in   one  hour  before  take-off time  and  you   still must  go through the  security  check  which can  take  half an hour at a busy  time of the  day

Xian  airport to    Xian  city  is a   60 - 90 minute  drive

Good  luck

Cheers

Peter

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Dear Peter,
     THANK YOU SO MUCH!
   I will change my plans and fly directly to Xian from Hong Kong.
I really appreciate your 'local' knowledge. It will save me stress.
Best Wishes,
 Joey