Neanderthals buried their dead. Duh.

 

A new discovery has released the shocking news that Neanderthals buried their dead, released as this thought hadn't occurred to us before, which is odd as we've uncovered at least one Neanderthal grave with the deceased covered in flowers before.

Here's more shocking news.  Neanderthals were people.

We're unfortunately in a "splitter" era in terms of linnean classifications.  There have always been two such groups for such things, one being lumpers who hold that species are big groups with a fair amount of diversity, and splitters who hold the opposite.

I'm a lumper as they are correct.

The classic definition of a species is when two members of the same genus can breed and reproduce.  We're well aware that's the case with "our species" and Neanderthals, as most Europeans and now, we've learned, some Africans are packing around Neaderthal DNA.

But we should have known that all along and indeed some biologist and archeologist long held that.  And in fact at one time our species was referred to as Homo Sapien Sapien; Cro-Magnon man as Homo Sapien Archiac (or something like that) and Neanderthals as Homo Sapien Neaderthalensis.  Looked at that way, there was one species that had at least three subspecies, maybe more, but those are the ones we knew about.

And that definition is correct. 

So now we've confirmed, not discovered that Neanderthals buried their dead.  Of course they did. We already know that due to some of the injuries they had, and recovered from, they cared for their injured as well.  

They were simply people after all.  Every bit as smart or dull witted as we are.  

More significantly burying the dead implies that they knew of an afterlife. Their art may imply that as well. Which likewise shouldn't surprise us.

Our ancestors. . . pretty much like us.