Neanderthal's Last Stand

[Daryl Habel]

According to a new paper published online early by Nature,

Finlayson C., et al. Nature, advanced online publication doi : 10.1038/nature05195 (2006).
Late survival of Neanderthals at the southernmost extreme of Europe.
ABSTRACT HERE

Clive Finlayson of the Gibraltar Museum and colleagues claim Mousterian artifacts associated with radiocarbon dates of c. 28,000 BP (perhaps even 24 ka BP), at Gorham's Cave (Gibraltar), represent the  last refuge of European Neanderthals.

I haven't read the paper yet, but the news@nature.com story, by David Brill,  can be read: 
CLICK HERE

Dar

[lagarvelho]

Dar and all:

I haven't read the paper yet either(it's basically going to be uh, "bedtime reading").  I was running errands and other things all day and got home rather late, but was able to track the story down rather easily.  However, you and others might want to read what John Hawks has to say about it, which is at this URL:

http://johnhawks.net/weblog/reviews/neandertals/gorhams_28000_date_2006.html

As usual, Hawks has some pretty interesting things to say about this.
Anne G

[Robert Henvell]

If the dates in the article are in straticigraphic order,there are numerous bothersome anomalies.How much credence can be assigned to them?We need more detailed information than the current presentation contains.

[lagarvelho]

Robert:

The questions you ask, are pretty much the same ones Hawks is asking.  My stand on it at the present is, I'm *very* interested in the possible "fallout" from this.  But given the uncertainties you and Dr. Hawks have raised, I'm more or less "agnostic" about the possible results.  At least at the moment.
Anne G