Cro-Magnons is the common name for the ancestors of people who existed 40-10 thousand years ago (). Cro-Magnons is a sharp leap in the development of human evolution, which has become decisive not only in the survival of the human race, but also in the development of Homo sapiens.
Cro-Magnons appeared much later, about 40-50 thousand years ago. According to some estimates, the earliest Cro-Magnons could have existed more than 100 thousand years ago. Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons are varieties of the genus Homo.
Neanderthals presumably originated from a man, who, in turn, was a type of Homo erectus (), and were not the ancestors of people. Cro-Magnon originated from Homo erectus and are the direct ancestors of modern man. The name "Cro-Magnon" refers to the discovery of several skeletons of people with Late Paleolithic tools in the rock grotto of Cro-Magnon, France. Later, the remains of Cro-Magnons and their culture were found in many parts of the world - in Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Romania, and Russia.
Scientists offer different versions of the appearance and distribution of Cro-Magnons - the ancestors of people. Judging by one version, the first representatives of the ancestors of people with the Cro-Magnon type of development (the type of Homo erectus) appeared in East Africa 130-180 thousand years ago. Approximately 50-60 thousand years ago, the Cro-Magnons began to migrate from Africa to Eurasia. Initially, one group settled on the coast of the Indian Ocean, and the second settled in the steppes of Central Asia. A little later, migration began to Europe, which was inhabited by the Cro-Magnons about 20 thousand years ago. There are also other versions about the distribution of Cro-Magnons.
The Cro-Magnons had a huge advantage over the Neanderthals that existed at the same time in Europe. Although the Neanderthals were more adapted to northern conditions, were more powerful and stronger, they could not resist the Cro-Magnons. The direct ancestors of people were carriers of such a high culture for that time that the Neanderthals were clearly inferior to them in development, although, according to some studies, the Neanderthal brain was larger, he knew how to create tools and hunting, used fire, created clothes and dwellings, knew how to make jewelry , possessed speech and so on. By that time, Cro-Magnon had already made quite complex jewelry made of stone, horn and bone, as well as cave paintings. Cro-Magnons first came up with human settlements, lived in communities (tribal communities), which included up to 100 people. As dwellings in different parts of the world, Cro-Magnons used caves, tents made of animal skins, dugouts, houses made of stone slabs. Cro-Magnons created clothes from skins, made more modern, compared to their ancestors and Neanderthals, tools of labor and hunting. The Cro-Magnons also tamed the dog for the first time.
As the researchers suggest, the migrating Cro-Magnons who arrived in Europe met Neanderthals here, who long before them had already mastered the best territories, settled in the most convenient caves, settled in profitable areas near rivers or in places where there is a lot of prey. Probably in, the Cro-Magnons, who had a higher development, simply exterminated the Neanderthals. Archaeologists find bones of Neanderthals at the Cro-Magnon sites, which have clear traces of their eating, that is, Neanderthals were not only exterminated, but also eaten. There is also a version that only part of the Neanderthals were destroyed, the rest were able to assimilate with the Cro-Magnons.
Cro-Magnon finds clearly indicate the existence of their religious ideas. The rudiments of religion are also observed in Neanderthals, but many scientists express great doubts about this. Among Cro-Magnons, cult rites can be traced very clearly. The ancestors of people already tens of thousands of years ago carried out complex funeral rites, buried their relatives in a bent position in the position of an embryo (belief in the transmigration of the soul, rebirth), decorated the dead with various products, placed household items, food in the grave (belief in the afterlife of the soul, in which she will need the same things as during earthly life - plates, food, weapons, etc.).
Cro-Magnons - the origin of modern man
Cro-Magnons - the common name of the ancient representatives of modern man, who appeared much later than the Neanderthals and coexisted with them for some time (40-30,000 years ago). Their appearance and physical development were in fact no different from modern humans.
Approximately 40–30,000 years ago, the third greatest event in the life of our planet took place. The first, which happened several billion years ago, was the origin of life. The second is the beginning of humanization, the transition from ape to ape-man - about 2 million years ago. The third event is the appearance of a modern type of man, Homo sapiens - a reasonable man.
40-30,000 years ago, it appears and very quickly (quickly in this case, when a millennium is a trifle) takes the place of the Neanderthals.
Cro-Magnon skeletons found
As soon as an archaeologist from France Larte discovered 5 skeletons in the Cro-Magnon grotto under a thick layer of centuries-old deposits, he immediately guessed that he had met “acquaintances”. Shortly before this, the scientist became aware that, by order of the authorities of the Haute-Garonne department, 17 skeletons, accidentally found in the Orignac Pyrenean cave, were buried in the parish cemetery. Larte could easily prove that in relation to these people one can waive the strict rules of Christian burial, and not only dug them back, but also established (using stone tools and animal bones from the Aurignac cave) that they were contemporaries of the same ice age, where the classic Neanderthals lived. The tools of the Aurignacian man are in a slightly higher, i.e. late, layer than the tools of the Chapelles.
The two caves in which the most ancient people of the modern type were found gave them their names: the first person was called the Cro-Magnon, and the first great period of his history was the Aurignac period (culture).
Soon followed by dozens of discoveries of Cro-Magnon skeletons and sites throughout Western Europe and North Africa, and the ancient "reasonable man" appeared in all its splendor and splendor.
Parking lot Sungir
Sculptural portraits of a girl and a boy from the Sungir site
Sungir is an Upper Paleolithic Cro-Magnon site on the territory of the Vladimir region. There is a well-known paired burial of a boy aged 12–14 and a girl aged 9–10, lying with their heads to each other. What their bones could tell. As it turned out, the boy, despite his age, could throw a spear well with his right hand. The girl, judging by the development of her fingers and forearm, often made scrolling movements with her right hand. We know that the clothes of the Sungir people were covered with many beads made of mammoth bone, and there were holes in the beads. These holes, apparently, were drilled by a young Cro-Magnon woman.
The structure of the right humerus and cervical vertebrae show that the girl often raised her right arm up, and her head was constantly tilted to the left. In order for such features to appear on the skeleton already in childhood, the load must be very strong! According to anthropologists, the girl regularly wore weights on her head, and held them with her right hand. Perhaps during the transitions from camp to camp, which were made by nomadic groups of Cro-Magnons, the little Cro-Magnon was a carrier on an equal basis with adults.
What was a Cro-Magnon
Cro-Magnons evoked admiration from their discoverers, mixed with envy: the first people - and immediately what!
They were Caucasians, of enormous height (on average 187 cm), with an ideal straight bipedal gait and a very large head (from 1600 to 1900 cm³). Such a large skull could still be considered a "relic of Neanderthalism", but this head already had a straight forehead, a high cranial vault, and a sharply protruding chin.
Cro-Magnon man did not know what metal was, did not suspect either agriculture or cattle breeding, but if we could transfer him through 400 centuries, he, apparently, would easily understand everything and could draw up an equation, write a poem, work on the machine and compete in a chess tournament.
Where did the Cro-Magnon come from?
A Cro-Magnon man appeared - for archaeologists and anthropologists - somehow at once: just here, in the caves of France and Italy, squat, powerful, invincible people lived, and suddenly they quickly, abruptly disappear, and people of the modern type are already hunting in their area. The newcomers are accompanied by an incredible technological revolution: instead of 3-4 primitive Neanderthal stone tools, about 20 stone and bone “devices” are used during the Aurignac period: awls, needles, tips, and so on. Immediately, as if from nothing, an amazing cave art appears.
This most powerful anthropological, technical and cultural upheaval now determines the entire human history. For billions of years, animals have existed only according to biological laws, improving, expanding the apparatus of adaptation, but not leaving the biological framework. But now a most important event occurs: the development of a group of animals has reached such a stage that they include in the mechanism of their adaptation, in addition to their own teeth and paws, also an inanimate object that does not belong to the body: a stick, a stone.
According to one version, the Cro-Magnon is the ancestor of all modern people, having appeared in East Africa approximately 130-180,000 years ago. According to this theory, 50-60,000 years ago they migrated from Africa to the Arabian Peninsula and appeared in Eurasia. The first group was able to quickly populate the coast of the Indian Ocean, and the second migrated to the steppes of Central Asia. The second group is the ancestors of nomadic peoples and most of the Middle Eastern and North African population. Migration from the Black Sea to Europe began approximately 40-50,000 years ago, presumably through the Danube corridor. 20,000 years ago, all of Europe was already inhabited.
How has everything changed?
Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon
From now on, this creature no longer belongs entirely to biology, there is a gap in the “biological fence”. Oldowan pebbles, an axe, a stone axe, a locomotive, an electronic computing device - these are phenomena of the same order: a living being uses and combines inanimate objects. "Who" dominates "what".
The breakthrough of biology that occurs in a social animal multiplies, intensifies in the pack, creates new relationships in this pack. But, apparently, the biological factor, that is, the physical structure of the creature, does not immediately get used to, is consistent with the new "organs" - tools: for about 2 million years, the first ape-men change not only their inventory, but also their physical structure. A hand squeezing a beaten pebble makes the brain think hard and increase, but not remaining in debt, the brain sends its signals to the hand: it also improves.
Over thousands of centuries, tools go from rough stone, stick or bone to the Neanderthal axe, stone scraper and pointed point.
The brain during this period increases from 600–700 to 1500 cm³.
Gait - from semi-monkey to completely straight.
Hand - from a tenacious paw to a perfect tool.
The collective - from the animal flock to the first human social forms.
Some law of evolution, which we have not yet fully deciphered, causes the body of the ape-man to change along with his tools.
Comparison with modern man
Eventually there comes a point when biology and tools reach full agreement, a point from which brain and hand can do whatever work they want. The same brain and the same hand as a Cro-Magnon man will control a bow 20,000 years later, a plow 25,000 years later, and a few thousand years later, a locomotive, a car, an airplane, a rocket.
To move from a primitive ax to a more perfect one, it took from a Pithecanthropus to become a Neanderthal. And in order to come from stone unpolished tips to the splitting of the atom, “nothing” was needed, that is, it seems that nothing fundamentally changed in the human body.
Instead of changing physically in the struggle for existence, man chose a different path. From now on, he began to improve "inanimate objects" and changed the structure of his society. Physical changes were replaced by faster and more painless - technical, social.
And how can we actually know that the biological development of man has stopped?
Discussions on this topic have been going on for a very long time. It has been noticed that there are secular, millennial fluctuations in the physical structure of a person: the Cro-Magnon man was taller than us, now, as you know, humanity is again growing quite rapidly. Several thousand years ago, human bones were more massive, then they became more elegant, tomorrow, perhaps, they will again become massive and bulky. Undoubtedly, "brachycephalization" is going on, an increase in the number of short-headed people compared to long-headed ones.
The reasons for these changes are cryptic: food, a new way of life? The seriousness of these changes is also predictable: are these phenomena temporary, or tomorrow they will be covered by another change, or will a person still look different in a few tens or hundreds of millennia, not like now?
Guessing about the future, however, we have the right to declare: over the past 30-40 thousand years, gigantic changes in technology have occurred, but during the same time there have been no fundamental "corporeal" changes.
Obviously, the “thousand-great-grandfathers” laid a good foundation!
Cro-Magnon culture
The Cro-Magnon created a rich and varied Late Paleolithic culture. There are descriptions of more than 100 types of complex stone and bone tools made with great skill, made by new, more efficient processing of stone and bone. To a large extent, the Cro-Magnons also improved hunting methods (driven hunting), catching deer, mammoths, woolly rhinos, cave bears, wolves and other animals. They began to manufacture spear throwers (a spear could fly 137 m), as well as devices for catching fish (harpoons, hooks), and bird snares.
Cro-Magnons usually lived in caves, but at the same time, they built various dwellings from stone and dugouts, tents from animal skins, and even entire villages. Early neoanthropes could make sewn clothes, often decorated. So, at the Sungir site (Vladimir region), more than 1000 beads were found on the fur clothes of a man, many other decorations were found - bracelets, rings.
The Cro-Magnon man was the creator of remarkable European primitive art, as evidenced by multi-color painting on the walls and ceilings of caves ( (Spain), Montespan, Lascaux (France), etc.), engravings on pieces of stone or bone, ornament, small stone and clay sculpture. Amazing images of horses, deer, bison, mammoths, female figurines, called “Venuses” by archaeologists for the splendor of their forms, various objects carved from bone, horns and tusks or molded from clay, no doubt can testify to a highly developed sense of beauty among Cro-Magnons. Cave art reached its peak approximately 19-15,000 years ago. Scientists believe that the Cro-Magnons could have had magical rites and rituals.
Probably, the life expectancy of Cro-Magnons was longer than that of Neanderthals: about 10% already lived to be 40 years old. In this era, the primitive communal system was also formed.
Cro-Magnon cave with wall paintings
In the south-west of France, near the city of Villonaire, Charente department, speleologists and archaeologists have discovered a cave with ancient wall paintings.
Cave researchers managed to find a unique and extremely valuable underground hall with rock art back in December 2005, but the unique cave was reported much later. Recently, scientists have increasingly adhered to such strong secrecy with valuable finds in order to prevent their destruction by unwanted visitors.
Work is underway to date the rock paintings. Experts do not exclude that they may be older than those in the famous Lasko Cave and Altamira Cave. According to the first impressions of experts, we are talking about a Cro-Magnon site, that is, a period of 30,000 years ago. According to scientists, the find in Villonera could be a revolution in science - it used to be believed that in such ancient times people did not resort to painting the walls of their underground dwellings.
Where did the huge Cro-Magnon population come from and where did it disappear to? How did races come about? Whose descendants are we?
Why were Cro-Magnons distributed throughout the world? Could one population live on a huge area from Vladimir to Beijing? What archaeological finds support this theory? Why was the Cro-Magnon brain larger than the modern human brain? Why do the classical Neanderthals of Europe bear little resemblance to modern humans? Could they have lost their speech a second time? Was the Neanderthal a Bigfoot and a Cro-Magnon hunter? During what period did the geological and cultural catastrophe occur? What did the sudden and simultaneous melting of two large glaciers lead to? Where did the Cro-Magnons go? How did the major racial groups form? Why was the Negroid racial group the last to appear? Did the Cro-Magnons keep in touch with their space handlers? Paleoanthropologist Alexander Belov discusses whose descendants we are and who is watching us from space?
Alexander Belov: The Soviet anthropologist Debets, he believed that he even introduced the term "Cro-Magnons in the broadest sense of the word" into science. What does this mean? The people of the Upper Paleolithic are more or less similar to each other, regardless of where they lived, on the territory of the Russian Plain, in Europe, or in Australia, or in Indonesia, and even in America there are remains of the Cro-Magnons. In fact, they were distributed all over the world, and from this we conclude that the population was more or less homogeneous. And so Debets just introduced the concept of "Cro-Magnons in the broadest sense of the word" into science. He united in this population all the people of the Upper Paleolithic who lived regardless of where they lived, they were more or less similar to each other, and he called them this term, "Cro-Magnons in the broadest sense of the word." That is, it is not connected with the Cro-Magnon grotto in France or in some parts of Europe. They find, for example, the skull of Sungir 1, an old man according to Vladimir, he is very similar, Cro-Magnon, to a similar skull 101, which was found near Beijing in the Dragon Bones Cave, in fact, one to one just a skull. You can see on the map how large the distance between Vladimir and Beijing is, that is, approximately the same population lived for a huge distance. It was, of course, not numerous, that is, there are few remains of the Cro-Magnons, it must be said, that is, this population was not numerically numerous. And this is what is characteristic of Cro-Magnons, they are united not only by a single morphotype, they are also united by the presence of a large brain. If, on average, a modern person has 1350 average volume of cubic centimeters of the brain, then Cro-Magnons have an average of 1550, that is, 200-300 cubes, a modern person, alas, has lost. Moreover, he lost not just the cubes of the brain, as if abstractly, he lost just those zones, those representations of the associative and parietal frontal zones of the brain, that is, this is exactly the substrate by which we think, where the intellect itself is based. And in fact, the frontal lobes, they are responsible for inhibitory behavior, for the fact that, roughly speaking, we do not hold back emotions, we expose ourselves to some kind of unrestrained, emotional affects. And if these brakes are turned off, then, of course, a person can already switch to some affective behavioral reactions. This is very bad and detrimental to his own fate and the fate of the society in which he lives. And this is exactly what we see among the Neanderthals, the early Neanderthals, they are called atypical, they lived about 130 thousand years ago, they are found in Asia, mainly in Europe, Asia Minor, they were more or less still similar to modern people. And the classic Neanderthals of Europe, their chin protrusion actually disappears, they have a high larynx, they have a flat base of the skull. This suggests that the Neanderthals lost their speech for the second time, this is what it says. Alexander Zobov, our famous Russian and Soviet anthropologist, spoke and wrote a lot about this. And in fact, a paradoxical thing turns out, and their culture also becomes practically, so they dig a trench and accidentally discover the backbone of Neanderthals without any accompanying archaeological inventory or so on. This suggests that this is, if you like, roughly speaking, a Bigfoot of such an Upper Paleolithic. And they, apparently, were simply hunted by the Cro-Magnons. In Croatia, this massacre is known, when 20 bones and broken skulls of Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons were found, most likely such fights or battles in the Upper Paleolithic took place between Neanderthals, the predecessors of modern people, and Cro-Magnons.
And in this regard, the question arises, where did the Cro-Magnons go, in fact, and who are we, modern people? There are several versions on this subject, but if we follow the tradition of Soviet anthropology and Debets, in particular, then a quite clear and distinct picture is drawn that the classical Cro-Magnons, Cro-Magnon-like types, they spread throughout the Earth, created a rather high culture, it was, apparently, connected with some new unusual technologies that we have already lost, we don’t know, and with some knowledge that we, unfortunately, have also lost, and with a connection, perhaps, with our space predecessors, this also indicates , for example, and wands, some astronomical calendar carved circles and other different features, that testifies to this. And somewhere in the region of the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary, about 10 thousand years ago, a geological cultural catastrophe occurs. But in historical terms, this Upper Paleolithic is actually replaced by the Mesolithic, the Middle Stone Age, that is, the Old Stone Age, it is replaced by the Mesolithic. And in fact, the Middle Stone Age, during this period of time, amazing things happen. Suddenly melt, suddenly melt, I would say, both glaciers, and the huge Scandinavian glacier, the thickness of which reached three kilometers in height, and it reached Smolensk, that's how it was, its epicenter over the Gulf of Bothnia. At the same time, the North American glacier is melting, which generally occupied half of North America, the continent, in terms of power and latitude. And naturally, the level of the World Ocean in this period, 12-10 thousand years BC, it rises sharply to 130-150 meters. And it’s clear that people who find themselves in this situation, they will be divided, Africa is separated from Asia, Europe is also separated from Asia by water barriers, that is, on the site of the Russian Plain, seas are formed here that merge into the Caspian and Black Seas, and into the Mediterranean then. Many racial groups, future racial groups, being in isolation, in island isolation, so to speak, firstly, the population is sharply reduced, that is, anthropologists talk about the “bottleneck” that racial groups go through, all racial groups, this is exactly what is happening. at this point, and that, in general, they are geologically separated. And once in an isolate, in a geological isolate, such basic racial groups begin to form, Caucasoids in Europe, Mongoloids in Asia, this is the Far East, Asia, Central Asia, and Africans on the African continent. This is due to the fact that genetic exchange, it does not go between these groups for several millennia, at least.
Here, cultural isolation must also be added to this. Cultural isolation may even have done more negative than such purely geographical isolation. The Negroids are changing quite a lot, and it is the Negro race that appears at this moment. Negroids, they are very young, one might say, that is, this is the Neolithic, the end of the Mesolithic, the beginning of the Neolithic, at least 9-10 thousand years before the new era, blacks appear.
Cro-Magnons(Fig. 1) are the immediate ancestors of modern humans. This species, according to scientists, appeared more than 130 thousand years ago. Archaeological finds indicate that the Cro-Magnons lived for more than 10 thousand years in the neighborhood with another kind of people - the Neanderthals. In fact, Cro-Magnons have no external differences with modern people. There is another definition of the term "Cro-Magnon". In a narrow sense, this is a representative of the human race who lived on the territory of modern France, they got their name from the place where researchers first discovered a large number of remains of ancient people - the Cro-Magnon Gorge. But more often, Cro-Magnons are called all the ancient inhabitants of the planet. During the Upper Paleolithic period, this species dominated most of the land surface, with a few exceptions - in places where Neanderthal communities still remained.
Rice. 1 - Cro-Magnon
Origin
Unanimous opinion about how it appeared kind of Cro-Magnon not among anthropologists and historians. There are two main theories. Most scientists believe that this species appeared in the eastern part of Africa, and then spread through the Arabian Peninsula throughout Eurasia. Adherents of this theory believe that the Cro-Magnons later divided into 2 main groups:
- Ancestors of modern Hindus and Arabs.
- Ancestors of all modern Mongoloid peoples.
As for the Europeans, according to this theory, they are representatives of the first group, who migrated about 45 thousand years ago. Archaeologists have found a huge amount of evidence in favor of this theory, but still the number of scientists adhering to an alternative point of view has not decreased over the years.
In recent years, there is more and more evidence of the second version. Scientists who adhere to this theory believe that Cro-Magnons are modern Caucasians and do not include Negroids and Mongoloids in this type. A number of scientists insist that the first Cro-Magnon man appeared on the territory of modern Ethiopia, and his descendants settled in northern Africa, the entire Middle East, Asia Minor, most of Central Asia, the Hindustan Peninsula and all of Europe. They insist that the Cro-Magnons migrated almost in full force from Africa more than 100 thousand years ago, and only a small part of them remained in the territory of modern Egypt. Then they continued to develop new lands, the ancient people reached France and the British Isles by the 10th century BC, passing through the Caucasus Range, crossing the Don, Dnieper, Danube.
culture
Ancient Cro-Magnon Man began to live in rather large groups, which was not observed in the Neanderthal. Often, communities numbered 100 or more individuals. The Cro-Magnons inhabiting Eastern Europe sometimes lived in dugouts, such a dwelling was a "discovery" of that time. Caves and tents were more comfortable and spacious compared to similar types of Neanderthal dwellings. The ability to speak articulately helped them understand each other better, they actively cooperated if one of them needed help.
The Cro-Magnons became more skillful hunters and fishermen, these people first began to use the "driving" method, when a large animal was driven into a pre-prepared trap, and there inevitable death awaited him. The first similarities of fishing nets were also invented by the Cro-Magnons. They began to master the harvesting industry, dried mushrooms, and stocked up on berries. They also hunted birds, for this they used snares and loops, while often ancient people did not kill animals, but left them alive, designed primitive cages for birds and admired them.
Among the Cro-Magnons, the first ancient artists began to appear, who painted the walls of the caves with different colors. You can see the work of ancient masters in our time, for example, in France in the Montespan cave, several creations of ancient masters have survived to this day. But not only painting developed, the Cro-Magnons sculpted the first sculptures from stone and clay, and were engaged in engraving on mammoth tusks. Very often, ancient sculptors sculpted naked women, it was like a cult, in those days it was not harmony that was valued in a woman - ancient sculptors sculpted women with magnificent forms. And also sculptors and artists of antiquity often depicted animals: horses, bears, mammoths, bison.
The dead tribesmen, the Cro-Magnons were buried. In many ways, modern rituals resemble the rituals of those years. People also gathered, also cried. The deceased was dressed in the best skin, they put jewelry, food, tools that he used during his lifetime. The deceased was buried in the fetal position.
Rice. 2 - Cro-Magnon Skeleton
Leap in development
The Cro-Magnons developed more actively than the Neanderthals assimilated by them and the common ancestors of both types of Pithecanthropus. Moreover, they developed in many areas, a huge number of achievements were made by this particular species. The reason for such an intensive development is Cro-Magnon brain. Before a child of this species was born, the development of his brain completely coincided with the intrauterine development of the brain of a Neanderthal. But after birth, the baby's brain developed differently - there was an active formation of the parietal and cerebellar parts. The Neanderthal brain after childbirth developed in the same directions as that of a chimpanzee. The Cro-Magnon communities were much more organized than the Neanderthal communities, they began to learn spoken language, while the Neanderthals never learned to speak. Development proceeded at an incredible pace, Cro-Magnon tools- these are knives, hammers and other tools, some of which are still used, since, in fact, no alternative has yet been found for them. The Cro-Magnon actively adapted to weather factors, their dwellings began to vaguely resemble modern houses. These people created social circles, built a hierarchy in groups, distributed social roles. Cro-Magnons began to realize themselves, think, reason, actively explore and experiment.
The emergence of speech among Cro-Magnons
Just as there is no unity among scientists on the issue of the emergence of the Cro-Magnon, so there is no unity with respect to another question - "how did speech originate among the first rational people?"
Psychologists have their own opinion on this matter. They argue, with an impressive evidence base, that Cro-Magnons adopted the experience of Neanderthals and Pithecanthropes, who had some rudiments of articulate communication.
Linguists of a certain kind (generativists) also have their own theory, supported by facts. However, it cannot be said that only generativists support this theory, many prominent scientists are on their side. These scientists believe that there was no inheritance from previous species, and the appearance of articulate speech is the result of some kind of brain mutation. Generativists, trying to get to the bottom of the truth and find confirmation of their theory, are looking for the origins of the proto-language - the first human language. So far, the disputes do not subside, and not one of the parties has exhaustive evidence of its correctness.
Differences between Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon
Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals are not so close species, moreover, they did not have a single ancestor. These are two species between which there was competition, skirmishes, and, possibly, local or general confrontation. They could not help but compete, as they shared the same niche and lived side by side. There are many differences between the two types:
- body constitution, size and physiological structure;
- skull volume, cognitive abilities of the brain;
- social organization;
- general level of development.
Studies conducted by scientists have shown that there is a significant difference in DNA between these two species. As for nutrition, there are also differences here, these two species ate differently, generalizing, we can say that the Cro-Magnons ate everything that the Neanderthals ate, plus plant foods. An interesting fact is that the body of Neanderthals did not absorb milk, and the basis of the diet of Neanderthals was the meat of dead animals (carrion). Cro-Magnons, on the other hand, only in rare cases, in cases where there were no other options, ate carrion.
Rice. 3 - Cro-Magnon skull
In the scientific community, disputes do not stop about whether these two species could interbreed with each other. There is plenty of evidence that they could. For example, it cannot be ruled out that in the structure and constitution of the body of some modern people, echoes of Neanderthal genes are sometimes traced. The two species lived in close proximity, mating certainly could have taken place. But scientists who claim that the Cro-Magnons assimilated the Neanderthals are opposed in disputes by other scientists, among whom there are famous personalities. They argue that after interspecific crossing, fertile offspring could not be born, that is, for example, a female individual (Cro-Magnon) could become pregnant from a Neanderthal, could even bear a fetus. But the born baby was weak to survive, and even more so to give life to his own offspring. These conclusions are supported by genetic studies.
Differences between Cro-Magnon and modern man
There are both minor and significant differences between modern man and his Cro-Magnon ancestor. For example, it was found that the average brain size of an earlier subspecies of humans was slightly larger. This, in theory, should indicate that the Cro-Magnons were more intelligent, their intellect was more developed. This hypothesis is supported by a small part of pundits. After all, a larger volume does not always guarantee a better quality. In addition to the size of the brain, there are other differences that do not cause sharp disputes. It is proved that the ancestor had more dense vegetation on the body. There is also a difference in height, it is noticed that over time and evolution people have become taller. The average height of the two subspecies differs significantly. Not only height, but also the weight of the Cro-Magnon was less. In those days, there were no giants weighing over 150 kilograms, and all because people could not always provide themselves with food, even in the required volumes. Ancient people did not live long, a person who lived to be 30 years old was considered an old man, and cases when a person experienced a 45-year milestone are generally rare. There is an assumption that the Cro-Magnons had better eyesight, in particular, they saw well in the dark, but these theories have not yet been confirmed.
Cro-Magnons are the inhabitants of the late Stone Age, who in many ways resembled our contemporaries. The remains of these people were first discovered in the grotto of Cro-Magnon, located in France, which gave them their name. A lot of parameters - the structure of the skull and features of the hand, the proportions of the body and even the size of the brain of the Cro-Magnons are close to a modern type of person. Therefore, the opinion has taken root in science that it is they who are our direct ancestors.
Appearance Features
Researchers believe that the Cro-Magnon man lived about 30 thousand years ago, while it is interesting that for some time he coexisted with the Neanderthal, who later finally gave way to a more modern primate. For about 6 millennia, according to scientists, these two varieties of ancient people simultaneously inhabited Europe, sharply conflicting over food and other resources.
Despite the fact that the Cro-Magnon man was not much inferior to our contemporaries in appearance, his muscle mass was more developed. This was due to the conditions in which this person lived - the physically weak were doomed to death.
What are the differences?
- The Cro-Magnon has a characteristic chin protrusion and a high forehead. In the Neanderthal, the chin is very small, and the superciliary ridges were characteristically pronounced.
- Cro-Magnon man had the volume of the brain cavity necessary for the development of the brain, which was not the case with more ancient people.
- The elongated pharynx, the flexibility of the tongue, and the peculiarities of the location of the oral and nasal cavities allowed the Cro-Magnon man to receive the gift of speech. The Neanderthal, according to the researchers, could make several consonant sounds, his speech apparatus allowed him to do this, but he had no speech in the traditional sense.
Unlike the Neanderthal, the Cro-Magnon had a less massive physique, a high skull without a sloping chin, a broad face and eye sockets narrower than those of modern people.
The table shows some features of Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons, their difference from modern man.
As can be seen from the table, the Cro-Magnon man, in terms of structural features, is much closer to our contemporaries than to the Neanderthal man. Anthropological finds indicate that they could interbreed with each other.
Geography of distribution
The remains of a Cro-Magnon type of man are found in various parts of the world. Skeletons and bones have been found on the territory of many European countries: the Czech Republic, Romania, Great Britain, Serbia, Russia, as well as in Africa.
Lifestyle
The researchers managed to recreate the lifestyle model of the Cro-Magnons. So, it is proved that it was they who created the first settlements in the history of mankind, in which they lived in fairly large communities, including from 20 to 100 members. It was these people who learned to communicate with each other, possessed primitive speech skills. The way of life of the Cro-Magnons meant the joint conduct of business. Largely due to this, they managed to achieve impressive success in the hunting and gathering economy. So, hunting in large groups, together, allowed these people to get large animals as prey: mammoths, aurochs. Such achievements to one hunter, even the most experienced, of course, were beyond his strength.
In short, the lifestyle of the Cro-Magnon largely continued the traditions of the Neanderthal people. They also hunted, used the skins of dead animals to make primitive clothing, and lived in caves. But independent buildings made of stones or tents made of skins could also be used as dwellings. Sometimes they dug original dugouts, sheltering from bad weather. In the matter of housing, the Cro-Magnon man managed to make a small innovation - nomad hunters began to build light disassembled huts that could be easily erected and assembled during parking.
Community life
The features of the structure and lifestyle of the Cro-Magnon make him in many respects similar to a modern type of person. So, in the communities of these ancient people there was a division of labor. Men were engaged in hunting, together they killed wild animals. Women also took part in the preparation of food: they collected berries, seeds and nutritious roots. The fact that decorations are found in the graves of children testifies: the parents had warm feelings for their descendants, grieved for an early loss, tried to take care of the child at least posthumously. Due to the increased life expectancy, Cro-Magnon people got the opportunity to pass on their knowledge and experience to the next generation, to be more attentive to raising children. As a result, infant mortality has also declined.
Some burials differ from others in rich decorations, an abundance of utensils. Researchers believe that noble members of the community, respected for some merit, are buried here.
Tools of labor and hunting
The invention of the harpoon is the merit of the Cro-Magnon man. The lifestyle of this ancient man changed after the appearance of such weapons. Affordable efficient fishing has provided complete food in the form of sea and river inhabitants. It was this ancient man who began to make snares for birds, which his predecessors were not yet able to do.
On the hunt, the ancient man learned to use not only strength, but also ingenuity, building traps for animals many times larger than him. Therefore, obtaining food for an entire community required much less effort than in the days of its predecessors. The corralling of herds of wild animals, mass raids on them was popular. Ancient people learned the science of collective hunting: they frightened large mammals, forcing them to flee to those areas where it was easiest to kill prey.
Cro-Magnon man managed to step up the ladder of evolutionary development much higher than his predecessor, the Neanderthal. He began to use more advanced tools, which allowed him to gain advantages in hunting. So, with the help of spear throwers, this ancient man was able to increase the distance traveled by the spear. Therefore, hunting has become safer, and prey - more plentiful. Long spears were also used as weapons. The tools of labor became more complex, needles, drills, scrapers appeared, as the material for which the ancient man learned to use everything that came to his hand: stones and bones, horns and tusks.
A distinctive feature of Cro-Magnon tools and weapons is a narrower specialization, careful dressing, and the use of a variety of materials in production. Some products are decorated with a carved ornament, indicating that the ancient people were not alien to a peculiar understanding of beauty.
Food
The basis of the Cro-Magnon diet was the meat of animals killed during hunting, primarily mammals. In those days when these ancient people lived, horses, stone goats, deer and tours, bison and antelopes were common, and they served as the main source of food. Having learned to fish with harpoons, people began to eat salmon, which in abundance rose through the shallow water to spawn. Of the birds, according to anthropologists, the inhabitants of antiquity could catch partridges - these birds fly low and could well become a victim of a well-aimed spear. However, there is a hypothesis that they were able to extract waterfowl. Meat stocks, according to scientists, the Cro-Magnons kept in glaciers, the low temperature of which did not allow the product to deteriorate.
Vegetable food was also used by the Cro-Magnons: they ate berries, roots and bulbs, seeds. In warm latitudes, women fished for shellfish.
Art
The Cro-Magnon man also became famous for the fact that he began to create objects of art. These people painted colorful images of animals on the walls of the caves, carved anthropomorphic figures from ivory and deer antlers. It is believed that by drawing animal silhouettes on the walls, ancient hunters wanted to attract prey. According to researchers, it was during this period that the first music and the earliest musical instrument appeared - a stone pipe.
Funeral rituals
The fact that the lifestyle of the Cro-Magnon has become more complicated compared to his ancestors is also evidenced by a change in funeral traditions. So, in the burials they often find an abundance of jewelry (bracelets, beads and necklaces), which indicate that the deceased was rich and noble. Attention to funeral rituals, covering the bodies of the dead with red paint allowed researchers to conclude that the inhabitants of the ancient Stone Age had some rudimentary beliefs about the soul and the afterlife. Household utensils and food were also placed in the graves.
Achievements
The lifestyle of the Cro-Magnon in the harsh conditions of the ice age led to the fact that these people had to take a more serious approach to tailoring. According to the finds - rock paintings and the remains of bone needles - the researchers concluded that the inhabitants of the late Stone Age knew how to sew primitive clothing. They wore jackets with hoods, pants, even mittens and shoes. Often, clothes were decorated with beads, which, according to researchers, was a sign of honor and respect among other members of the community. It was these people who learned how to make the first dishes, using burnt clay for its manufacture. Scientists believe that during the time of the Cro-Magnons, the first animal was domesticated - a dog.
The era of the Cro-Magnons is separated from us by a thousand years, so we can only guess how exactly they lived, what they used for food and what orders reigned in the settlements. Therefore, there are many controversial and controversial hypotheses that have not yet found serious scientific evidence.
- The discovery of a child's jaw of a Neanderthal baby, mutilated by a stone tool, led researchers to think that Cro-Magnons could have eaten Neanderthals.
- It was the Cro-Magnon man that caused the extinction of the Neanderthals: a more developed species forced the latter into areas with an arid climate, where there was practically no prey, dooming them to death.
The structural features of the Cro-Magnon man in many respects bring him closer to a modern type of person. Thanks to the developed brain, these ancient people represented a new round of evolution, their achievements, both in the practical and in the spiritual sense, are truly great.
