Knox County Neanderthals was originally published in the BFEC Newsletter, Vol. 14/No. 2, Spring 2010.
“Neanderthals: dull, dim-witted, hairy, beetle-browed, stooped, savage. These are among the images elicited from students in introductory anthropology classes when asked to describe our closest relative on the human family tree. Is this an accurate image? Did they really have trouble walking and chewing gum at the same time?”
This excerpt from the course description of a class taught by Professor of Anthropology Bruce Hardy leaves us with a question... and not one that would be answered at the library. Hardy and his students embraced the harsh climate to do some real-world testing of prevailing theories about Neanderthals’ behaviors and capabilities.
The group set out in freezing temperatures and blowing snow to see what it would have taken to survive in the harsh northern range of the pre-historic Neanderthal. Building real shelters to survive real wind and snow, harvesting saplings and fashioning spears with teamwork and sharp stones, trekking through knee-deep snow in search of materials and sustenance; these daily necessities were reconstructed once per week here at the BFEC. And just like the Neanderthals for a time, the class prevailed. What will spring bring for these educated modern primitives? Only time will tell; I will report that the local deer herd seems... anxious.