No Tears For Neanderthals

By Hugh Ross

Ironically, as the three Slovenian archeologists announced their flute discovery, two American anthropologist’s Jeffrey Schwartz and Ian Tattersall, published their research on thirteen Neanderthal skulls. They found huge nasal bones, much larger sinus cavities than modern humans, and no tear ducts.(1,2) Such features not only differ radically from humans’, but they also appear unique among all land mammals yet discovered. This skeletal evidence provides one more proof, perhaps the strongest indicator to date, that modern humans cannot be Neanderthals’ descendants.

References:

  1. Jeffrey H. Schwartz and Ian Tattersall, "Significance of Some Previously Unrecognized Apomorphies in the Nasal Region of Homo neanderthalensis,", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, volume 93 (1996), pp. 10852-10854.
  2. Jeffrey T. Laitman, et al, "What the Nose Knows: New Understandings of Neanderthal Upper Respiratory Tract Specializations," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, volume 93 (1996), pp. 10543-10545.

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