Neanderthals are HUMAN. They were a little bigger than modern all over. They had slightly more pronounced brow-ridges, and they lived in Europe during an ice-age, but they are homo sapiens... i.e. Humans. They almost surely had language and culture and religion and maybe even a little astronomy.

That said, the premise of "feminism" killing them is stupid.

Cheers,

dave

Good point, Catherine. Another point is that the definition of feminism has changed with time, so that's another reason you can't apply the term to Neanderthals. Not to mention that maybe it was common practice for women to join in the hunts.

When I was young, in the 70s, a feminist was simply a person who believed women should have the same legal rights as men. Apparently the definition has now become something murky and even sinister, depending upon who you ask.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal

Neanderthal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Homo sapiens neanderthalensis

Jebus Catherine, calling them animals? If you passed a Neanderthal on the street, you wouldn't look twice. You may be married to one. Hell, you might be one yourself. Do you have redhair?

Here are some reports on Human Neanderthal Interbreeding:

http://cogweb.ucla.edu/ep/Neanderthal.html

Human-Neanderthal Hybrid?

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/08/070802-neanderthals.html

Odd Skull Boosts Human, Neandertal Interbreeding Theory

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2799650

ABC News: Skull Suggests Human-Neanderthal Link

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Human_And_Neanderthal_Interbreeding_Reported_999.html

Human And Neanderthal Interbreeding Reported

I know it's deeply offensive to you to think we're not unique, and that women are not uniquely oppressed by a brute male patriarchy.

Neanderthals think? THEY'RE ANIMALS!

Sweet jebus, you write for Salon?

In this feminist infested country, most of the neanderthal looking men are breeding incessantly and freely while the overeducated wonks barely reproduce.

Yes, trying to grab a bull by the horns, or taking on a bear armed only with a spear is pretty stupid, and that would explain why Neanderthals, whether they had assertive women in their tribes or not, went extinct.

The modern feminist faced with the tasks of hunting and gathering to survive would have built traps to take out bulls and bears without having to lay hands on them, and would have built bows and arrows to shoot wild game from a greater distance off. Humans didn't survive because we were more physical than Neanderthals, we survives because we were smarter. But then idiots from the Boston Globe write something stupid and prove that some humans are not as intelligent as we should be, or perhaps those idiots (at the Boston Globe) managed to de-evolve.

and the evidence strongly suggests that there were innate mental differences between them and modern humans, although I agree they were "human" in a moral sense.

The specialization is evident. Studies have shown that women and men on average are better at certain things. Men are better at detecting and locating movement both by eye and by ear. Women can locate patterns visually and are better and communication. It's likely that women were largely responsible for the development of human language.

Women were not stay at home 50s style cave women. They were vital gathers and their specialization in those skills lead to the survival of our species. Assuming that hunting is somehow superior to gathering is silly. We need both to survive.

But to say Neanderthals died out because they didn't have evolutionary traits based on division of labor is pure speculation. Sounds like someone is just trying to create controversy. Looks like the "rage against the patriarchy" victim crowd took the bait.

You may want to check some more recent findings than the 1999 news item you listed. For example

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4986668.stm

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=77566

Recent findings indicate that Homo Sapiens Sapiens did not interbreed with Neaderthals and yes I agree with you that it boggles the mind that this woman writes for Salon. Can't you get any bloggers to fact check for you before you publish?

JHouser

Mostly because humans ARE animals. Forgive me for focusing on perhaps an unimportant part of the article, but I find it interesting that you assert that animals can't be feminists, completely disregarding the fact that there's relatively little difference (in DNA) between humans and other great apes, and an insignificant difference between humans. So, I guess I'm curious as to where you draw that fabulously invisible line between what is "human" and what is "animal"?

First things first: Neanderthals are variously classed as Homo sapiens neanderthalensis or Homo neanderthalensis; ether way they are humans. Sure they're animals, but only because we are as well, and not in the sense that seems to be implied by the writer. Perhaps Ms. Price meant that Neanderthal women weren't feminists because they didn't need to be? If they were co-equals with their men they didn't need to fight for lost rights.

But past that, in all predatory species the females hunt. For this theory to fly, it would need to apply to all predators who face similar dangers: lions, tigers, hyenas, toothed wales, polar bears, penguins, owls, eagles etc. etc. Does it? The fact that all these predators are quite successful (barring human depredation and habitat destruction) means that it probably does not.

But because you speak the fem language not only MUST you be correct but you are also superior to us poor men who actually have intelligence rather than spewing PC bullsh*t.

Yes, trying to grab a bull by the horns, or taking on a bear armed only with a spear is pretty stupid, and that would explain why Neanderthals, whether they had assertive women in their tribes or not, went extinct.

Why would you assume neanderthals did such a thing? Because you adore feminists and figure feminists are smarter, so you will attribute the positive, more intelligent traits to them? You are ridiculous, but nobody calls you on your proto-fascist man-hating crap. God, somebody screwed you up.

The modern feminist faced with the tasks of hunting and gathering to survive would have built traps to take out bulls and bears without having to lay hands on them, and would have built bows and arrows to shoot wild game from a greater distance off.

Modern feminists hunt for food? What are you smoking? Most traps are lain by MEN, most of whom would have you for supper for being such a preposterous wussie. Like nearly EVERYTHING ELSE, men invented bows and arrows. What have women invented?

Humans didn't survive because we were more physical than Neanderthals, we survives because we were smarter.

FetDarwin knows this personally because he/she/it was around during the neanderthal ages too.

But then idiots from the Boston Globe write something stupid and prove that some humans are not as intelligent as we should be, or perhaps those idiots (at the Boston Globe) managed to de-evolve.

Here you go, your clever little joke.

You are more the clever little joke, by half. Now go back and hide under your mommy's skirt, girlie.

You cannot possibly be male. Maybe neutered, but no male has ever been so 'female positive, male negative', NO FEMALE HAS EITHER.