25 Apr 10
1 edit
Originally posted by sonhouseA fair point. It would seem likely that this sort of lifestyle would require a fairly complex material culture though, so would probably only have been within the capabilities of H. Sapiens Sapiens. Magdalenian artefacts show some indications of this sort of subsistence (harpoon points etc.), and have been reliably dated back to 18,000 - 20,000bp.
I lived a long time in Alaska, Inuit lives by the water mostly, getting seals, the occasional whale and such. They would not have had that resource in a total glaciated period.
25 Apr 10
Originally posted by avalanchethecatStill, they would not have been able to harpoon anything with a mile thick layer of ice so they would have had to have been at the edge of the ice and if anything the presence of those ancient harpoons would indicate more where the edge of the glacier was at that time more than the presence of humans there. The glacier level came and went in cycles so a thousand years one way or the other would have the glacier in different locations.
A fair point. It would seem likely that this sort of lifestyle would require a fairly complex material culture though, so would probably only have been within the capabilities of H. Sapiens Sapiens. Magdalenian artefacts show some indications of this sort of subsistence (harpoon points etc.), and have been reliably dated back to 18,000 - 20,000bp.
25 Apr 10
Originally posted by sonhouseGranted. And in fact it is generally accepted that Magdelenian culture relied quite heavily or even principally on reindeer, which of course would have to avoid the ice sheet. Even so, it is conceivable or even likely that there would have been some human presence wherever there was exposed coastline in Northern Europe once H.S.S. was on the scene.
Still, they would not have been able to harpoon anything with a mile thick layer of ice so they would have had to have been at the edge of the ice and if anything the presence of those ancient harpoons would indicate more where the edge of the glacier was at that time more than the presence of humans there. The glacier level came and went in cycles so a thousand years one way or the other would have the glacier in different locations.
26 Apr 10
Originally posted by sonhouse.... or Neanderthal mated with modern woman!
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2010/04/early-humans-may-have-bred-wit.html#comment-2275986
Our purity as modern humans is now blown wide open. For decades, scientists have been saying modern humans never mixed dna with Neanterthals but this evidence shows otherwise and the full dna of Neanterthals will soon be finished and they will be looking even deeper.
Either way it does explain some of the characters at my local!
26 Apr 10
Originally posted by sonhousethe ancient harpoon points would now be offshore where the glaciers' edge used to be.
Still, they would not have been able to harpoon anything with a mile thick layer of ice so they would have had to have been at the edge of the ice and if anything the presence of those ancient harpoons would indicate more where the edge of the glacier was at that time more than the presence of humans there. The glacier level came and went in cycles so a thousand years one way or the other would have the glacier in different locations.
wasn't NYC 400 ft below ice during the ice age?
29 Apr 10
Originally posted by sonhouseYea, but I echo someone else's post - there are folk that'll get jiggy with pretty much anything that... well, I was gonna say 'moves' but that's hardly necessary for some, is it?
We don't know just who did the mixing with what, Neander man against modern woman or modern man against neander female.