Originally posted by flyingfish
reply to post by auraelium

forensic reconstruction of the La Ferrassie neanderthal One of the world's foremost digital sculptors, Madrid based Arturo Balseiro (below) was commissioned to create a forensic reconstruction of a Neanderthal based on Vendramini's NP theory.

Almas

Mongolian for 'wild man, is the name given presumed hominid reputed to inhabit the Caucasus and Pamir Mountains of central Asia as well as the Altai Mountains of southern Mongolia. As is typical of the unknown hominids throughout central Asia, Russia, and the Caucasus, Almas are generally considered to be more akin to "wild people" in appearance and habits than an ape, unlike other hominids such as the Yeti of the Himalayas which is said to be more ape like than man.

Almas are typically described as human like bipedal creatures, between five and six and a half feet tall, their bodies are covered with reddish-brown hair, and they have anthropomorphic facial features including a pronounced brow-ridge, flat nose, and a weak chin. They are usually described as unclothed, although a handful of sightings refer to primitive clothing, made from animal skins, most likely used to keep warm. Many researchers have been struck by the similarity between descriptions of the Almas and modern reconstructions of how a Neanderthals might have appeared.

In 1420 the first known printed reference to the Almas was documented by Hans Schiiberger as he traveled through the Tien Shan mountains as a captive of the Mongols. During his imprisonment wrote the following in his journal:

“In the mountains themselves live a wild people, who have nothing in common with other human beings, a pelt covers the entire body of these creatures. Only the hands and face are free of hair. They run around in the hills like animals and eat foliage and grass what ever else they can find. The Lord of the territory made Egidi a present of a couple of forest people, a man and women, together with three untamed horses the size of asses and all sorts of other animals which are not found in German lands with I cannot therefore put a name to.”

Please tell me that last quote is a joke?? lol Obviously has just discovered zbrush or mudbox lol. Wayne...

Originally posted by halfoldman
reply to post by SLAYER69

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I suppose saying they contributed to European DNA does make them a kind of contributing "missing link", even if it means we didn't slowly evolve from them.

I'd say the "brutish ape" view came from a time when Neanderthals were considered a separate line from Homo Heidelbergensis, and they were considered neither our ancestors by evolution or interbreeding. They were a distant cousin and evolutionary dead-end.

It seems the recent scramble to absolutely humanize these hominids came with the realization that they may have contributed to European ancestry, and no matter how long ago in prehistory, Europeans can only come from a well-dressed, spiritual artist (hilarious really)!

A creature doesn't have to look like us to be intelligent. Other animals seem to show signs of grieving for their dead.

We don't have to push a species into a "primitive man" mold to say they could have done these things. We know they were intelligent hominids who made stone tools and had some use of fire.

They were top-level predators in a very challenging environment, and just like much of the Ice Age fauna they evolved physical adaptations to that environment.

"Try these physical characteristics on for size:

• For starters, massive, broad shoulders are indicated by a scapular breadth that is about 8% larger than their modern human contemporaries. (Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans did live side by side for several millennia.)

• Muscle attachments for the pecs were enormous, up to twice the size of today’s average.

• Neanderthals had shorter, wider humeri (upper arms), which combined with the shoulders, suggests substantial rotator cuff muscularity. And, get this; the bones in their forearms were actually bowed from muscles that must have powered a grip that could crush stone.

• All of this upper body musculature was anchored on a solid foundation of massive quads that specialized in explosive power and side-to-side movement."

"This would have made Neanderthal fingers and thumbs upwards of twice the strength of modern humans" Lumely-Woodyear 1973;

"Thus Neanderthals were probably better at throwing (Debenath and Tournepiche 1992) than their modern contemporaries"

One fails to see any of those adaptions in the popular reconstructions (and even the artists and paleontologists would acknowledge that these are highly speculative, but popular culture often accepts such artistry at face value).

Of course it's all highly speculative, and that's why it will be good to have two views because it will challenge the scientists to provide concrete evidence for their interpretations.

But hey, I've already seen pictures of Denisovans and their clothes, and all that based on a finger and tooth discovered in 2010!

Ultimately they are extinct and we survived, so somewhere along the line we proved the most "brutish ape" of all, and that's a central point of the predation theory.

It seems that the Neanderthal "researchers" are so intent on their humanized construction of Neanderthals that it took an outsider (a film-maker) to rock the boat

Originally posted by flyingfish
reply to post by the secret web

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Please tell me that last quote is a joke?? lol Obviously has just discovered zbrush or mudbox lol. Wayne...

Whats so funny?
Do you not like the art?
Maybe you like this one yes?

edit on 19-7-2011 by flyingfish because: (no reason given)

There are many true phenominal digital sculoptors out there and I can say for sure this guy isn't one of them yet. As such any reconstruction would be null and void as he does not have the knowledge or skill to carry out such a recon ...especially as he obviously do not have good control of his sculpting software yet.

Arturo Balseiro has work as make up effects artist for more that 15 years, during this years he has develope the skills to create amazing creature using makeup special fx. He has translate all the "real life technics" to use on a digital enviorement(zbrush 3, Maya) to design the characters providing the character a "real life" like qualities designs,maquettes or 3D models. He´s really well know for the love to the detaills on his designes, and for the conceivible characters he finally recreate. The ranges of posibilites to display the work goes from simple pencils drawing ideas to complex 3D models that let Arturo and the client explore the design from every angle and any posbiility, giving the oportunity to make changes and options very fast.