Archaeologists play an interesting role... part scientist, part archivist and sometimes part policeman. Whether looking for a forgotten person, tribe, civilization or world, archaeologists often live and work on the verge of discovery. Outcast Earth is pleased to present some intriguing archaeological tales discoveries about our evolutionary past...

NEWLY DISCOVERED HOMINIDS WALKED THE EARTH WITH MODERN HUMANS:
In October 2004, archaeologists made a baffling discovery in a cave located deep in the tropical jungle on the tiny island of Flores. The island is located near the eastern tip of Java, an area of the world that is renowned as the depository for some of the oldest hominid remains in the world. At first, archaeologists thought that the diminutive remains they found in the limestone cave were those of a human child, as they measured only a little over three feet in height (approximately 91 cm). But forensic studies told a very different story. The “child” turned out to be an adult woman whose age at the time of her death was estimated to be about 30 years. (The species is officially known as Homo florensiensis or more commonly as Flores Man.) This particular female was bipedal but with unusually long arms, shinbones similar to those of an ape, blunt-shaped teeth and a sharply sloping forehead. Their brains were smaller than those of modern chimpanzees. Continued excavations uncovered six other individuals whom archaeologists assumed were members of the same family group. So who were these little people? A newly discovered branch of humanity... or some kind of evolutionary aberration? Whoever they were, scientists now believe that they inhabited the area for over 80,000 years before volcanic eruptions wiped them and a variety of other prehistoric species off the Javan landscape. But if they are a human relative, what accounts for their small size when other hominids generally grew in stature over time? Environment made account for this strange evolutionary departure. One theory, called the “Island Rule,” suggests that in the confined space of an island, species larger than a rabbit will become smaller to conserve energy while species smaller than a rabbit will grow slightly in order to compete better for the limited resources. As a result, H. florensiensis became a dwarf among giants. It seems possible that H. florensiensis may have existed at the same time as modern humans, but what's less clear is if both species existed on Flores Island at the same time. Archaeological evidence of human habitation on the island begins only 11,000 years ago, after the volcanism that killed off the H. florensiensis had subsided. Still, persistent native stories of little people called “Ebu Gogo” who lived deep in the jungles may provide at least some anecdotal evidence that the two branches of humanity were aware of each other. Similar stories are found throughout the South Pacific islands, with perhaps the best known coming from Hawai'i where tales of the tiny Menehune still fascinate archaeologists and tourists alike.

THE NEANDERTHAL'S LAST STAND
They were a robust branch of human evolution that most archaeologists believe were forced into extinction through the rise of the smarter and more adaptable Homo sapiens. But did the decline and fall of the Neanderthal really happen that way? For decades, scientists have debated whether Neanderthals were an offshoot of humanity or a distinct but humanlike species. Several new discoveries would seem to build a strong case that Neanderthals were an entirely different race, although they may have shared a common ancestor with humans. Although cosmetically similar in many ways, the physiological differences between Neanderthals and humans are striking, with one recent report indicating that the two species actually have more differences than humans and their next closest primate relative, the chimpanzee. Neanderthals also had a distinct DNA pattern which seemed to die out when they did, indicating that they was little or no cross-breeding between Neanderthals and humans.Physically, Neanderthals are probably the image most people have of the typical “caveman.” They were short and muscular, rarely standing taller than 5.5 feet (approximately 1.68 meters). They had the largest brain pans of any hominid, although this doesn't necessarily mean that they were more intelligent than their human counterparts. Like humans, they were skilled craftsmen, creating unique spear points, pottery and artwork. Neanderthals were also the first hominids to bury their dead, although it is unclear if this practice had the same spiritual meaning it did for Cro Magnon man, the earliest known European humans. Neanderthal tribes roamed the cold climates all over Europe, Asia and the Mediterranean until about 33,000 years ago when they began to disappear. But a discovery in cave on Gibraltar would seem to indicate that the Neanderthals – or at least one forgotten tribe – lived on in solitude for thousands of years after their kinsmen had vanished and the world became dominated by modern humans. Working at a site called Gorham's Cave, archaeologists from Gibraltar Museum found over a hundred artifacts typical of Neanderthals, including Mousterian spear points. Radiocarbon dating determined that some of the artifacts were about 24,000 years old... decidedly younger than any other Neanderthal tools found elsewhere in the world. Archaeologists believe that the Gibraltar Neanderthals made have migrated to Gibraltar in order to avoid contact with the Homo sapiens who were steadily pushing them out of their traditional homelands. The forested valleys and mountains of Gibraltar may have provided enough shelter and sustenance for the Neanderthals to live on for thousands of years after they disappeared everywhere else. Evidence found in Gorham's Cave indicate this isolated tribe subsisted on wild olives, mussels and aquatic mammals.Curiously, this idea that pockets of primitive hominids could have survived for long periods of time without detection is often used to explain the sitings of “wild men” from all over the world, including the notion that world famous “Yeti” is in fact a survivor of a prehistoric primate called Gigantopithecus.

[This information was originally transmitted as an enewsletter on September 20, 2006.]