Behavioral differences between near Eastern Neanderthals and the early modern humans from Skhul and Qafzeh: An assessment based on comparative samples of Holocene humans

The differences and similarities between Near Eastern Neanderthals and the early modern humans from Skhul and Qafzeh in Israel have long been a point of study and debate. Conclusions about the magnitude and especially the implications of the differences have served as evidence to support or refute competing hypotheses about their cultural and biological differences. Here we revisit the controversy by assessing the midshaft shapes and robusticity of the femur, tibial, humerus, and radius of these Middle Paleolithic samples in comparison to European Neanderthals, Gravettian modern humans, several modern individuals from other late Pleistocene cultures in Europe and Israel, and a diverse set of Holocene humans from around the globe. The results show that the Near Eastern Neanderthals resemble European Neanderthals as well as a diverse array of modern agriculturalists and intensive foragers. In contrast, the people from Skhul and Qafzeh are much more distinct from recent samples but bear a degree of resemblance to Khoesan and Zulu males and females, Amud 1, and Ohalo 2. Additional insights emerge when the upper and lower limb are considered separately, but the result remains that the early moderns rather than Neanderthals seem to have faced an unusual, or at least uncommon, set of mechanical demands in comparison to most of the more recent groups.