Angela
Elite member
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- Italian
Maxime Aubert et al:
"Early dates for ‘Neanderthal cave art’ may be wrong:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/sdfe/pdf/download/eid/1-s2.0-S0047248418300915/first-page-pdf
"In a recent paper, Hoffmann et al. (2018a) contended that parietalartworks from Spain date back to at least 64.8 ka, and werehence created by Neanderthals. These rock art dates, if verified,would be the world's oldest dated examples of cave art by far andconsequently dramatically alter current thinking about the cognitiveabilities of Neanderthals (Appenzeller, 2018). For some authorities, these sensational and widely publicized rock art datesprovide the long-awaited ‘smoking gun’ evidence that incontestablydemonstrates that Neanderthals and modern humans were, interms of cognitive ability, strikingly similar. Hoffmann et al. (2018a)asserted that prior claims for Neanderthal art and symbolicbehavior lack firm empirical support. However, we believe thatsimilar ambiguities and problems exist in their current study,leading us to question the reliability of their rock art dating results."
"Our own critique focuses on two key points: (1) whether datedred markings on flowstone curtains are evidence for rock art production;and (2) potential problems with the sampling methodologyused to infer extremely old minimum ages for clearlydiscernible rock art motifs. Our paper is not intended to represent afull review of rock art dating using speleothems (for a comprehensivereview, see Aubert et al., 2017), nor do we evaluate othercontentious claims for Neanderthal art and symbolism. We referonly to what we regard as shortcomings in the identification ofparietal art motifs and the stratigraphic relationship between thedated samples and pigment layers reported by Hoffmann et al."
Given the areas in humans which have seen extensive purging of Neanderthal DNA (i.e. in cognitive and speech areas), I never believed the claims in Hoffman particularly.
I guess time will tell.
"Early dates for ‘Neanderthal cave art’ may be wrong:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/sdfe/pdf/download/eid/1-s2.0-S0047248418300915/first-page-pdf
"In a recent paper, Hoffmann et al. (2018a) contended that parietalartworks from Spain date back to at least 64.8 ka, and werehence created by Neanderthals. These rock art dates, if verified,would be the world's oldest dated examples of cave art by far andconsequently dramatically alter current thinking about the cognitiveabilities of Neanderthals (Appenzeller, 2018). For some authorities, these sensational and widely publicized rock art datesprovide the long-awaited ‘smoking gun’ evidence that incontestablydemonstrates that Neanderthals and modern humans were, interms of cognitive ability, strikingly similar. Hoffmann et al. (2018a)asserted that prior claims for Neanderthal art and symbolicbehavior lack firm empirical support. However, we believe thatsimilar ambiguities and problems exist in their current study,leading us to question the reliability of their rock art dating results."
"Our own critique focuses on two key points: (1) whether datedred markings on flowstone curtains are evidence for rock art production;and (2) potential problems with the sampling methodologyused to infer extremely old minimum ages for clearlydiscernible rock art motifs. Our paper is not intended to represent afull review of rock art dating using speleothems (for a comprehensivereview, see Aubert et al., 2017), nor do we evaluate othercontentious claims for Neanderthal art and symbolism. We referonly to what we regard as shortcomings in the identification ofparietal art motifs and the stratigraphic relationship between thedated samples and pigment layers reported by Hoffmann et al."
Given the areas in humans which have seen extensive purging of Neanderthal DNA (i.e. in cognitive and speech areas), I never believed the claims in Hoffman particularly.
I guess time will tell.