Scientists said last week they had uncovered evidence suggesting cave dwellers who lived in northern Spain some 500,000 years ago took care of their elderly and infirm.
University of Madrid paleontologists discovered the partial skeleton of a male of a European species ancestral to the Neanderthals who suffered from a stoop and possibly needed a stick to remain upright, they said in a statement.
“This individual would probably be impaired for hunting, among other activities. His survival during a considerable period with these impairments allows us to hypothesize that the nomadic group of which this individual was part would provide special care to aged individuals,” it said.
The remains suggested the cave dweller died when he was over 45. They were found at Atapuerca in northern Spain’s Burgos province, the site of several caves containing evidence of prehistoric human occupation.
The results of the study have been accepted for publication in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, the scientists said.
An earlier study carried out at the same site in 2009 concluded that the cave dwellers who lived there were cannibals who valued the flesh of children and adolescents.
In 1994, paleontologists also unearthed at Atapuerca the fossilised remains of Homo antecessor, or “Pioneer Man,” believed to date back 800,000 years.(afp)
科學家上週表示,發現大約五十萬年前居住於西班牙北部洞穴的人,懂得照顧同族老者與殘障者的證據。
馬德里大學古生物學家以聲明表示,發現一具男性歐洲人的部分骨骼,年代比尼安得塔人還早,該男性患有駝背,且有可能需要柺杖才站得直。
聲明表示,「這個人所從事的活動中,可能不包括打獵。他之所以能夠擁有這些缺陷,又活得相當長的一段時間,使我們假設這些游牧者懂得特別照顧掌者。」
根據他的遺骸,科學家推估洞穴人死時超過四十五歲。遺骸於西班牙北部布爾戈斯省的阿塔普爾卡被發現,該處有許多洞穴,裡面有許多史前人類遺址的證據。
科學家表示,這項研究結果獲得刊登於網路版美國國家科學院月刊的許可。
稍早的一項二零零九年研究表示,住在該處的洞穴人為食人族,並且偏好小孩與青少年的肉。
古生物學家也曾於一九九四年,在阿塔普爾卡挖出前人的遺骸化石,前人也稱「先鋒人」,存在於約八十萬年前。
(法新社/翻譯:吳岱璟)
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