Neanderthal Males Had Popeye-Like Arms
Arm bone remains show that Neanderthals were unusually pumped up on male hormones, possibly due to an all-meat diet.By Jennifer Viegas
Tue Jul 6, 2010 07:55 AM ET
THE GIST
• Remains of an early Neanderthal from Russia suggests these hominids had "peculiar" hormones.
• Neanderthal's unique hormonal status resulted in very strong males.
• Genes, climate and an all-meat diet likely led to their unusual hormonal status.
Remains of an early Neanderthal with a super strong arm suggest that Neanderthal fellows were heavily pumped up on male hormones, possessing a hormonal status unlike anything that exists in humans today, according to a recent paper.
Neanderthal males probably evolved their ultra macho ways due to lifestyle, genes, climate and diet factors, suggests the study, published in the journal Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia.
Project leader Maria Mednikova told Discovery News that Neanderthal males hunted in the "extreme," helping to beef up one arm.
"The common method for killing animals was direct contact with the victim," said Mednikova, a professor in the Institute of Archaeology at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Instead of shooting prey, such as mammoths, with a bow and arrow from a distance, Neanderthal males would engage in face-to-face contact, jabbing long, thick spears directly into the animal's flesh.
Neanderthal females weren't delicate creatures either.
Mednikova and her colleagues believe that "compared to anatomically modern humans, (both male and female Neanderthals) had a larger muscle mass and experienced a higher loading on the upper extremity than did Homo sapiens." Also, "they differed from modern humans by a greater functional difference between the sexes in the use of the right arm."
Neanderthal males had Popeye-type right arms, while Neanderthal females had arms that were more evenly matched and not nearly as muscular.
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