Aug24

“put on some lipstick and pull yourself together.” – elizabeth taylor

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Neanderthals Wore Makeup

 Tens of thousands of years before skin care routines started popping up on social media, Neanderthals – our supposedly brutish, decidedly unglamorous evolutionary cousins – were wearing makeup and even jewelry. This discovery was made by archaeologists working in Spain who excavated oyster shells covered in an”attention-grabbing” colored pigment.  The pigment was made of minerals including hematite, charcoal, lepidocrocite, and pyrite, which gave it a shimmering, glitter-like appearance that the researchers believe was also used on the body due to its cosmetic effect. The oyster shells were found with holes cut in them, suggesting they might have been worn as necklaces. The University of Bristol’s João Zilhão, who led the study, described the makeup to NPR as “something that people wear in order to convey what they are… in a world where you have a complex network of relations” – a means of self-expression rarely associated with Neanderthals. The shells which were 50,000 years old, wouldn’t look entirely out of place today.

By the Numbers

Neanderthals had larger brains than us.

Despite the common stereotype, their brains were larger than ours. Measured by endocranial volume,  the space inside the skull,) their brain size was an average of 1,410 cm³ (~6 cups) compared to Homo sapiens’ 1,350 cm³ (5.7 cups). Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better, however, as their brains were proportional to their bodies (which were denser and more muscular than ours) and supported their larger eyes, which helped them see in the low-light environments where they thrived.

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‘i like to imagine that the Neanderthals were all really good artists.’

-jim drain

 

*jim drain is an American textile artist who creates vibrantly colored mixed-media works that incorporate a range of materials such as fabric scraps, machine knit-patterns, found objects, and printed ephemera.

 

 

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source credits: gary larson, far side cartoon, university of bristol, npr, historynews, michael nordine

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42 responses »

  20. It is very interesting. I am not surprised to hear that. All kinds of indigenous peoples in all kinds of eras have been doing so. It was to appear more imposing or dangerous, to show that way that they are on a mission, or to impress in other ways.

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  25. Well, seems the fun started earlier than we thought. If only they would find the pages of books. Maybe the printing press was made much earlier as well. Big cats on their laps, a mug of coffee or tea and life was good. Designer clubs and a line of necklaces. Love it.

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  26. Not sure if you follow blogger/writer Jacqui Murray, Beth, but her books are about prehistoric people. Because she wants her stories to be as factually accurate as possible, she studies things like this.

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  30. We are finding our amazing facts about Neanderthals like the examples you give. I took the 23AndMe test and I found out that I have a lot of Neanderthal genes. I am in the 99% / percentile. So I joined a Neanderthal club (part of 23AndMe website) but after some people in the club demanded reparations (seriously not a joke) for the supposed genocide of Neanderthals by Homo Sapiens I decided it was time to leave the Neanderthal club.

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