Transcript Neanderthals - Ms. McClure

Imagine a time long ago when giant
creatures like wooly mammoths and saber
tooth tigers roamed the Earth. Now imagine
that you must survive in this frigid age with
these enormous beasts. Join us as we take a
trip back in time with these magical hominids,
Neanderthals.

Neanderthals were short and stocky with
large muscles. They had receding chins,
larger cheeks, and very prominent brow
ridges that stuck out from the face.
Neanderthals were also quite hairy,
perhaps even furry. (1)
Neanderthals ate fish, berries, nuts, deer,
mammoth, and buffalo. (2)
 The women and children found nuts and
berries on the ground and also on
bushes. The men hunted using spears
and knives to kill the animals. (3)

The Neanderthals were gatherers and
hunters, and this is how they spent most
of their time.
 The Neanderthals divided the work
equally between men and women. The
women gathered and the men hunted.
(4)

Neanderthals used hammer stones to
make axes.
 They used spears to kill deer and buffalo.
 They used knives to cut meat and
animals.
 All of the tools were crafted from stone,
sharpened by chipping away with their
hammer stones. (5)

Neanderthals didn’t speak like we do
today.
 They spoke like little kids blabbering,
although their grunts and gestures
communicated something
understandable to them. (6)

Neanderthal language : uh e ah gruh huhh
whaa duhpff plluttth nnugg kluahh
Neanderthals were the first people to
figure out how to make fire. They made
fire by striking two fire stones of flint
together.
 They used fire to stay warm, to cook
food, and to heat materials to attach
them to sticks for tools. They also used fire
for light.(7)

Neanderthals made clothing from
mammoth hide.
 They used clothing to keep warm during
the Ice Age.(8)

Neanderthals formed shelters by using
mammoth tusks and rib bones for the shape
of the structure and for strength.
 The mammoth hides were then thrown on
the top of the frame to protect the
Neanderthals from harsh weather.
 Neanderthals also lived in caves.(9)

Neanderthals lived 200,000 years ago in
Europe, and they died out about 30,000
years ago.(10)
 Neanderthals were Ice Age people who
may have died out because they couldn’t
adapt when temperatures grew warmer. It
is also possible that the Cro-Magnons could
have waged war against the Neanderthals,
eventually exterminating them. Nobody
really knows for sure why the Neanderthals
became extinct.

Neanderthals’ religion began about 50,000
years ago.
 Neanderthals were the first people to bury
their dead. They also might have painted
the bodies of the dead because red
pigment was found on bones at burial sites.
Flower pollen was also found there, so
Neanderthals might have buried their dead
with flowers.(11)

1.
Did the Neanderthals have fire, and if so,
how did they create it?
2.
What types of meat did Neanderthals
eat?
3. What is one theory to explain why the
Neanderthals became extinct?
The Neanderthals had fire, which they
created by striking two fire stones of flint
together.
2. They ate deer, buffalo, mammoth, and fish.
3. Neanderthals were Ice Age people who
may have died out because they couldn’t
adapt when temperatures grew warmer. It
is also possible that the Cro-Magnons could
have waged war against the
Neanderthals, eventually exterminating
them.
1.
We have traveled back in time to the
ordinary present, where there are no
magical Neanderthals alive. Now you
can see how hard it would have been to
be a Neanderthal. If we had been
Neanderthals and ever saw a Saber
Tooth Tiger, Wooly Mammoth, or any
other colossal mammal alive, we would
probably have died of fright.
1. Early Humans packet, Neanderthal, p. 1.
2. Facchini, Fiorenzo, A Day with Neanderthal
Man, (Connecticut: 21st Century Books, 2003), pp. 10-11.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid, p. 11.
5. Hynes, Margaret, Early People, (Massachussetts:
Kingfisher, 2003), pp. 12-13.
6. www.modernhumansorigin.net
7. www.boneandstone.com
8. Early Humans Packet, Neanderthal,p.2
9. Ibid, p.1
10. www.moderhumanorigins.net
11. Ibid
Fire- www.cosmosmagazine.com, and moving manblogs.shareitfitness.com
Clothes- www.sciencefeature.com
Cave- dsc.discovery.com
Berries- www.life123.com
Deer- www.naturephoto-cz.com
Cave- dsc.discovery.com
Flowers- www.southernliving.com
Clothing- evoantha.wordpress.com
Hunting- animals.howstuffworks.com
Tools- www.symary.ws
Early Humans packet, Neanderthal, 1997.
Facchini, Fiorenzo. A Day with Neanderthal Man. Connecticut: 21st
Century Books, 2003.
http://www.boneandstone.com.
http://www.moderhumanorigins.net.
Hynes, Margaret. Early People. Massachussetts: Kingfisher, 2003.