What Neanderthal Death Can Tell Us About Neanderthal Life? The Culture of Trauma

What was life like for the Neanderthals? Based on archaeological reconstructions, we can judge what a Neanderthal may have looked like (Hall 2008, p. 44); based on skeletal remains, we can hypothesize on the physical duress of their lives (Berger and Trinkaus 1995, p. 847). But what can this information tell us about the social life of Neanderthals?

Pettitt postulates that "activity-related physical trauma was such a common event that it actually played a role in structuring Neanderthal society" (Pettitt 2000, p. 354). Based on data derived from European Neanderthal sites (p. 357), Pettitt divides the Neanderthal life cycle into three stages (infancy, juvenile, old age) for the purpose of analysis.

Neanderthals show a high rate of infant mortality, Pettitt claims, based on the number of infant fragments in relation to the total preserved Neanderthal skeletal remains. Here we begin to get into trouble with the data: by making claims on overall population statistics based solely on rates of archaeological preservation, this erroneously assumes that preservation would accurately represent the living population. Yet who becomes preserved in the archaeological record is a case of chance and circumstance, not of population demographics. Therefore we cannot assume an accurate reflection of the population because of preservation statistics, even if this is our only data set to work with. Despite this, Pettitt attempts to use the data at hand to draw conclusions which are speculative at best.

Pettitt notes that Neanderthal infants had an accelerated development and "matured in 80 percent of the time that modern humans took to do so" (p. 355). In addition, Neanderthals appear to have weaned earlier than Homo sapiens sapiens, indicating a wider birth spacing among the Neanderthals. Adolescence begins relatively early for the Neanderthals, perhaps, Pettitt suggests, because of the labour demands of hunting for Neanderthal groups (p. 357). Neanderthals can survive into their 30s and 40s, though it is noted by Trinkaus (1995) that 80% of Neanderthals recovered appeared to have died before the age of 40 (Pettitt 2000, p.358). In fact, after the age of 20, Neanderthals show a higher degree of trauma and stress indicative of a stressful lifestyle and foretelling of the dangers of hunting.

Pettitt concludes with:

"I therefore suggest that Neanderthal social organization was more structured by
the constraints and effects of biological development than it was by any
'cultural' factors. Two factors are crucial here: maturation (or life cycle), in
which the body develops, strengthens and weakens and concomitant skills of
social value appear and wane, and transformation (or trauma), in which
accidental or unintended physical events experienced in the foraging landscape
bring about detrimental effects which have the social effect of diminishing or
terminating the social position of the individual concerned." (p. 360)

Pettitt feels that because of the lack of artwork or other non-utilitarian material culture, the Neanderthals must have expressed themselves through "the mime of their bodies accompanied by a simple dialogue...which created and constrained their social systems" (p. 362). His conclusions, however, are not only limited by the archaeological record, but also by his ignorance. What of the Shanidar pollen clusters that suggest ritual mortuary practices? For some, this is a pinnacle example of Neanderthal culture (Leroi-Gourhan 1975; Solecki 1975).

The interpretations made by Pettitt are highly speculative. To begin with, he relies on generalizations of mortality rates based on only a portion of the archaeological record available. For example, Trinkaus' study, albeit the most comprehensive and the only age distribution study done to date on Neanderthals, looks at 206 European and Near Eastern Neanderthal sites (Trinkaus 1995). However, Neanderthal sites like Ngandong (Java), Broken Hill (Zambia), Makapan (South Africa), Saldanha Bay (South Africa) are not included. Whether these sites may affect the overall pattern of age mortality would be interesting. In addition, given that Neanderthals lived for approximately 100,000 years, one might expect some changes in mortality patterns in reaction to cultural/social evolution, environmental conditions, dietary adaptations, ect. However, because Pettitt relies on a study that evaluates Neanderthals as a static group, any understanding that may be derived from fluctuations over time is lost.

This point is especially frustrating as Pettitt generalizes not only Neanderthal mortality trends but also modern human mortality patterns: "[Neanderthals show a] steady increase in mortality from neonates through to adolescence, a pattern which is unusual when compared to that of modern and historical modern humans, where neonatal mortality is relatively high but mortality declines after that through to adolescence, after which there is a stead increase to a peak generally around young adulthood" (p. 357).

Any medical sociologist will immediately refer you to the Epidemiological Transition model, which states that as a country becomes more developed, their disease pattern will change from a high rate of infectious disease to a low infectious/high chronic disease pattern (Philips 1994). In a "developing" country with a high infectious disease rate, you will see a high rate of infant mortality and adolescents in their prime reproductive years (15-25 years) (Philips 1994). On the other hand in "developed" countries, chronic mortality rates show relatively longer lifespans, low mortality in neonatal, children and adolescents, and a steady increase of mortality up until old age. Obviously, there is a wide range of mortality patterns in Homo sapiens, so Pettitt's point of comparison is unclear. As well, if there is such a wide range in modern Homo sapiens based on region and economic development, should there not only be studies of Neanderthals that look at divisions of mortality rates over time and also over region?

One final key point that Pettitt makes is that Neanderthals did not appear to be subject to infectious diseases. As previously mentioned, infectious diseases usually show a peak in mortality among neonatal (under 2 years) and children (2-5 years) as well as adolescents in their prime reproductive years (Philips 1994). I took the liberty of graphing the 1995 Trinkaus mortality data set that Pettitt relies on. Based on the age of Neanderthal mortality from 206 sites, we see the following:


This does show a steady increase of mortality from neonatal to young adult for Neanderthals in general, as Pettitt argues. With no discernible peak in neonatal mortality rates, this is further evidence that infectious diseases were not likely to be prevalent among Neanderthals. Pettitt is clear to note that "indicators of infection specifically within Neanderthal populations are rare, and many pathologies clearly evident on the fossil material relate to other forms of stress" (p. 354). Instead, this age-specific high mortality rate among young adults is caused by "activity-related physical trauma" (p. 354), most likely by dangerous hunting.

Overall, Pettitt does make relevant points about the importance of trauma in defining Neanderthal culture. However, it would have been useful if he had used Trinkaus' 1995 study to look at regional mortality trends or trends over time. In truth, Pettitt does offer a succinct argument for trauma relating to culture (albeit relying on some speculative assumptions) and thus gives Neanderthals a cultural identity. However, he simultaneously generalizes culture for all Neanderthals over time and space. The question is, is this fair to do?

References Cited:

Hall, S. S. 2008, October. Last of the Neanderthals. National Geographic: 34 59.

Pettitt, P. B. 2000. Neanderthal Life cycles: Developmental and Social Phases in the Lives of the Last Archaics. World Archaeology 31(3): 351-366.

Philips, D. R. 1994. Epidemiological Transition: Implications for Health and Health Care Provision. Human Geography 76(2): 71-89.

Trinkaus, E. 1995. Neanderthal Mortality Patterns. Journal of Archaeological Science 22: 121-142.

Leroi-Gourhan, A. 1975. The Flowers Found with Shanidar IV, a Neanderthal Burial in Iraq. Science, New Series 190(4214): 565-564.