Neanderthal Mocking Had No Basis

More evidence rises to indicate that Neanderthals—icons of brutishness—were every bit our equals, if not superior.

The trend to rehabilitate Neanderthal Man after 150 years of disdain continues apace. Previous articles showed that these fully-human brethren made cave art, buried their dead, migrated long distances, made exceptional tools, cooked with fire, and left their imprint in our own genomes (proving they were members of our own species). They certainly exceeded most of us in hunting prowess. Now, a study of their arm and hand bones shows they had manual dexterity, too. Michael Marshall explains at New Scientist:

Neanderthals could hold objects between finger and thumb, just like we would hold a pen, because their hands were more nimble than anyone thought.

The finding helps explain the many skilful [sic] tasks Neanderthals have been shown to have performed, like making tools, painting on cave walls, carving patterns into bird bones and threading sea shells onto string to make jewellery. These activities were hard to explain if they were clumsy.

Like most Darwinians, Marshall commits the Tontology fallacy here, suggesting that all of us thought like Darwinists. “More nimble than anyone thought”— hey: creationists are part of the class “anyone.” They have always believed Neanderthals were fully human. Marshall should have said, “more nimble than Darwinian racist bigots thought,” because it’s only the Darwinists who used to put down their brethren who are no longer here to defend themselves.

The actual scientific work, published in Scientific Advances, was fair overall, except for the Darwinese in the opening:

Reconstructing the habitual behaviors of fossil hominins is vital for understanding the biocultural factors driving human evolution. Manual activities specifically hold particular interest, as they provide insights into the evolution of tool making and use, an essential human adaptation. A fundamental objective of human evolutionary research therefore addresses the manipulative capacities and behaviors of fossil hominins compared with modern humans…

From there, the authors have little to say about evolution. They effectively dismantle the false belief that modern humans were better at grasping than Neanderthals were. Detailed analyses of bones shows very little if any difference. Nevertheless, the four European authors continue to contrast Neanderthals with “modern” humans, instead of welcoming the long-disparaged tribe into the modern circle where they belong.

Put a suit on a Neanderthal and most people wouldn’t notice the difference.

At The Conversation, Francis Wenban-Smith joins the rehabilitation party, but only partly. His article, titled “Neanderthals were no brutes – research reveals they may have been precision workers,” is overshadowed with a model of Neanderthal Man barely improved over the old racist artwork: a dirty, hairy, unkempt male. How does he know they were not well-dressed men and women who took care of their looks the best they could? Like Marshall, this Darwinian archaeologist speaks in Tontological terms. Before reading the quote, ask who was guilty of thinking wrongly about these people. Was it Bible-believers or Darwin-believers? We’ll indicate the Tontology terms with [T] symbols.

Neanderthals were until quite recently often seen [T] as simple-minded savages – powerful hunters with a short attention span. But in the last few years, scientists [that is, Darwinian ‘scientists’] have realised that they were a lot more refined than previously thought [T] – capable of caring for the vulnerable, burying their dead and even adorning themselves with feathers and beads.

Now new evidence, published in Science Advances, reveals that the Neanderthals were also more similar to modern humans in their physical expression than previously thought [T]. The study, which analysed Neanderthal hand and arm bones, reveals that these individuals didn’t actually rely primarily on force in their daily activities – they used precision grips just like we do.

Strike three. In this [T]-ball game, Wenban-Smith can’t escape the fact that he thought wrongly about Neanderthals himself. Why, they most likely could been big-league champs at hardball. Where was this upstart before it became cool to praise Neanderthals? [27 June 2018]. Using past-tense, passive-voice verbs doesn’t fool the umpire. Will anybody believe his excuse?

The surprise here is not that Neanderthals have been shown to have an adaptation involving manual dexterity and a precision grip, but rather that this should ever have been a matter of doubt….

…this is a valuable and robust piece of research that reinforces what should now be the wide acceptance of Neanderthals as complex and sentient beings equivalent to ourselves.

He’s saying, I was never a bigoted racist. I always knew Neanderthals were as good as white people.

Darwinians had a long history of ‘scientific racism’ and white supremacy.

Yeah, right. Preach it, brother. You come from a long line of Darwinian ideologues who looked down on non-Europeans as savages. If you were sincere, you would give your fellow Darwinians a severe tongue-lashing for their century-long bigotry. Maybe you should read Dr Bergman’s book The Darwin Effect to learn just how bad Darwinian racism got. Start with what Charlie himself said in The Descent of Man about white races eventually exterminating the “lower” races. Proceed through the writings of Karl Pearson and others like him, and learn how Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger advocated abortion as a way to get rid of non-white undesirables. Read with horror the genocides committed in Africa and Tasmania by Darwinists.

As part of their penance, Darwinist anthropologists should be forced to watch the new documentary Human Zoos from the Discovery Institute, which documents how Darwinian racists actually put black people on display in zoos next to the apes to demonstrate the progress of Darwinian evolution. Maybe that punishment is not strong enough. Maybe Darwinians should enter the zoos themselves to experience what their predecessors did to black people.

Now that we all should know that Neanderthals were “complex and sentient beings equivalent to ourselves,” let us recall to mind our favorite Neanderthal Man, Joachim Neander, for whom the tribe is named (he was the Christian landowner on whose land the first Neanderthal bones were dug up). Let’s cleanse our souls of Darwinian racism by singing together the magnificent words Joachim Neander wrote in his well-known hymn, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation. Give your Neanderthal brethren the front row, along with all tribes, nations, tongues, and peoples (Darwinians, step to the rear, please, and hang your heads in shame and reverence as we sing).

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,
the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy
health and salvation!
All ye who hear,
Now to His temple draw near;
Sing now in glad adoration!
2
Praise to the Lord, who o’er all
things so wondrously reigneth,
Who, as on wings of an eagle,
uplifteth, sustaineth.
Hast thou not seen
How thy desires all have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
3
Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully,
  wondrously, made thee!
Health hath vouchsafed and, when
heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief
Ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.
4
Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper
thy work and defend thee,
Who from the heavens the streams of
His mercy doth send thee.
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
Who with His love doth befriend thee.
5
Praise to the Lord! Oh, let all that
is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come
now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen
Sound from His people again;
Gladly for aye* we adore Him.

*Scottish term for “always,” pronounced as long A.