Parkas may have helped early humans survive Ice Age
Parkas may have helped early humans survive Ice Age
Aug 05, 2016 | PTI
Toronto: Humans were able to survive the Ice Age because they figured out how to make parka-like clothing to keep warm, unlike the Neanderthals who perished, a new study suggests.
Researchers at Simon Fraser University in Canada studied camp site evidence from both groups to understand why just one group was able to survive.
The findings suggest Neanderthals might have perished because they were not able to sufficiently warm themselves using animal fur.
Researchers analysed data from campsites used by early humans and Neanderthals and then compared the two. One major difference they noted was the lack of the type of animal remains around Neanderthal sites that would have
suggested they were used to make warm clothes. The researchers found multiple examples of animals such as fox, rabbit, or mink - and particularly Wolverine - remains around 56 early human campfires, all of which could have been skinned to allow for use in creating a fur coat or parka, 'Phys.org' reported.
The finding of Wolverine remains was of particular note because it is the same animal that people living in the Arctic in modern times turn to keep warm because it works so well as a liner and fringe around the hood. Other evidence of humans crafting warm clothes has been found as well, such as bone needles for sewing and other tools that could be used to scrape pelts, researchers said.
More:
http://www.asianage.com/life-and-style/parkas-may-have-helped-early-humans-survive-ice-age-903
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Lack of winter clothes may have led to extinction of the neanderthals
TERRI THEODORE - VANCOUVER
The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016 9:41PM EDT
Last updated Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016 9:43PM EDT
Neanderthals may have been doomed to extinction because they didn’t make fur parkas or tailor their clothing to fit the frigid climate, a Simon Fraser University professor believes.
Prof. Mark Collard, a paleoanthropologist and director of the school’s human evolutionary studies program, said his study started with a question he had been mulling for 16 years about why evidence of wolverines was found in early human sites and not where Neanderthals lived.
He and some graduate students pored over a database of numerous archeological sites that dated back 60,000 years at the University of Cambridge. He said they were looking for big patterns, similar to crime-scene investigations. “You’re building up explanations from lots of little bits of evidence.”
Because the bones of so many more animals – such as rabbits, foxes, wolves and wolverines – were found at the ancient sites where humans lived, the study suggests that early humans likely skinned animals to create cold weather clothing including parkas, especially because the fur on those animals doesn’t freeze as easily.
“We found quite a few modern human sites with wolverines and no Neanderthal sites,” Prof. Collard said in an interview.
More:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/lack-of-winter-clothes-may-have-led-to-extinction-of-the-neanderthals/article31384300/
[center]
Prof. Mark Collard
Wolverine!
Jacobin Pigeons
with parkas. [/center]
