Assessment Questions 5.4

The Mousterian tool-making tradition of the Neandertals, named after the French Neandertal site Le Moustier, represents a refinement rather than a replacement of the Levallois technique. The Mousterian flakes were smaller and more precisely made compared to the earlier Levallois flakes. Instead of a single all-purpose tool like a handaxe or a few specific kinds of tools in the Levallois industry, the Mousterian tradition involved the production of dozens of different task-specific, standardized tool types. Archaeologist François Bordes defined 63 specific Mousterian tool types for cutting, slicing, piercing, scraping, sawing, and pounding. The precision in crafting Mousterian tools involved more intricate shaping and sharpening, requiring additional blows to the flake once it was removed from its core. This complexity in stone-tool assemblage reflects the sophistication and versatility of the Neandertals in tool use.

The Neandertal diet is inferred from various archaeological evidence. At Kebara Cave in Israel, evidence of an abundance of gazelle and fallow deer in the Neandertal diet was found. Burn marks and cut marks on bones of various mammalian species, including elephant and horse, indicate a broad animal subsistence base. Carbonized seeds of wild peas found in fireplaces suggest the consumption of locally available vegetable foods. Isotope analysis of Neandertal bones, specifically the ratios of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen, provides a relative measure of the proportion of meat and plant foods in the diet. Neandertal bones from Vindija Cave in Croatia showed carbon-to-nitrogen proportions similar to contemporary carnivores, indicating a significant reliance on meat. However, vegetal remains in dental calculus suggest that Neandertals were not strictly carnivorous.

Paleogenetics is used to assess family relationships among Neandertals. DNA analysis of Neandertal specimens from Chagyrskaya Cave in Siberia revealed that an adult male and juvenile female shared so much genetically that they could only have been father and daughter. This application of genetic analysis allowed researchers to identify biological bonds between individuals and even suggest patterns of social structure. The study proposed that in at least this Neandertal society, males stayed within the group into which they were born, forming a homogeneous genetic pattern, while females who partnered with them came from outside the group, likely from their own family bands. This genetic pattern aligns with the concept of "patrilocality," where males stay within their birth group, and females come from outside groups.