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Lurker_IV t1_je5m9fj wrote

Reply to comment by Aye_Eye_Captain in TIL The oldest musical instrument in the world, a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal flute, is made from the left thighbone of a young cave bear. by gonejahman

They had sewing needles so they had tailored clothing. And musical instruments so they had music. They had bigger brains than us so they were probably smarter. They must have had art of some kinds.

More human than human us back then probably. Shame they aren't around anymore.

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Jiktten t1_je6tewi wrote

>More human than human us back then

What makes you say that? IIRC there is no reason to suppose that early homo sapiens were any less mentally or linguistically sophisticated than we are now.

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IAm_NotACrook t1_je6wpk7 wrote

> They had bigger brains than us so they were probably smarter.

I don’t know if that tracks. Like dolphins have bigger brains than us but I don’t think a dolphin is as smart as us, despite being extremely intelligent in their own right.

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GeorgeOlduvai t1_je7pias wrote

It does not track. Your example is excellent; dolphins have bigger brains than humans but they use most of that for echolocation. Neanderthals had smaller frontal lobes and larger occipital portions.

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dressageishard t1_je85k4d wrote

Cro-Magnon man had a larger brain than modern humans. Who knows, maybe Neanderthals did, too?

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repeatwad t1_je7jh46 wrote

They hunted the hibernating cave bears, helped them through the winters.

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