Neanderthal Fashion

Neanderthals have come a long way from the brutish ape man they were one portrayed as. New discoveries have put the Neanderthal culture in a very new light!

Italian Neanderthals 44,000 years ago may of used feathers as decorative items (bows and arrows had yet to be invented). The feathers which were removed from the birds carcass were the longest and most beautiful feathers.
source

Of course they may of been using the feathers to paint their bodies or even caves...

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Shells discovered in Spain dated to 50,000yrs ago were stained in a variety of colours and would appear to have been worn as jewellery.

Pigment-stained seashells, likely worn as necklaces by Neanderthals, suggest these early Europeans were not only stylish, but that they were also just as smart and crafty as humans in Africa were.source

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[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/12149ad1f7ef.jpg[/atsimg]sou rce

Our Neanderthal cousins also used make-up or body paint to beautify themselves.

Francesco d'Errico, an archaeologist from the University of Bordeaux, France, has found crafted lumps of pigment - essentially crayons - left behind by Neanderthals across Europe.source

The scientists found lumps of a yellow pigment, that they say was possibly used as a foundation.
They also found red powder mixed up with flecks of a reflective brilliant black mineral.source

Red haired Wilma might of done all she could to improve her looks

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source

Neanderthals may also of been the first to wear clothes

Evidence of the very first clothing is mostly indirect. Archeologists (scientists who study the fossil and material remnants of past life) discovered chipped rock scrapers that they believe were used to scrape meat from animal hides. These date to about 100,000 B.C.E. Archeologists believe that these early humans cut the hides into shapes they liked, making holes for the head and perhaps the arms, and draped the furs over their bodies. Soon their methods likely grew more sophisticated. They may have used thin strips of hide to tie the furs about themselves, perhaps in the way that belts are used today.source

Of course they did, they had a larger cranial capacity than we do...

Originally posted by Tephra
Of course they did, they had a larger cranial capacity than we do...

That doesn't in its self imply a higher intelligence but i agree there is more to them that we ever thought, they buried their dead and left grave goods which also implies religious beliefs

reply to post by Versa


There is already a current thread on this.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by I B Dazzlin
reply to post by Versa

 

There is already a current thread on this.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

yes I noticed right after I posted but I've included more than feathers and am trying to look at the whole picture not just the feathers mods can close this thread if they like but I wasn't just referring to feathers

Cool thread idea!

I love fashion and I love speculating what other civilizations wore. I wonder how the women dressed and if they did so to impress each other or men like people do today. I like to see what older civilizations use to make jewelry, some of it is so pretty and detailed it had to have taken some time.

It doew beg the question though, why were they wiped out?

I mean they seemed to have the intelligence, I've even seen references to them creating music. How this conclusion has been evidenced I don't know.

So why are they not still around? Could it be that we/man wiped them out?

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Thanks

I like to think that the Neanderthal men and women did their best to attract a mate the same as we do today, I'm sure that some of the jewellery was used as decoration and some may of had religious significance. It would be fantastic to see more evidence of their adornment turn up.

Originally posted by Cobaltic1978
It doew beg the question though, why were they wiped out?

I mean they seemed to have the intelligence, I've even seen references to them creating music. How this conclusion has been evidenced I don't know.

So why are they not still around? Could it be that we/man wiped them out?

As far as Im aware there are a lot of reasons that this could of happened including disease, climate change, absorption and competition etc

reply to post by Versa


Thanks for the post. It is amazing to think that our ancestors walked the Earth with another semi-intelligent race.

reply to post by Cobaltic1978


Thanks

I think recent discoveries are pointing towards them being really quite intelligent rather than semi-intelligent and I think future finds will back this up.

A Neanderthal man's representation of himself


Found in Loire, France this flint artefact was chiselled and bone pieces inserted to present a representation of a Neanderthal man or woman.

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The "mask", which is dated to be about 35,000 years old, was recovered on the banks of the Loire in France. It is about 10 cm tall and wide and has a bone splinter rammed through a hole, making the rock look as if it has eyes. source