La Chapelle-aux Saints 1

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"The Old Man"

Catalog number	La Chapelle-aux Saints 1
Common name	"The Old Man"
Species	Homo neanderthalensis
Age	60,000 yrs. old
Place discovered	La Chapelle-aux-Saints, France
Date discovered	1908
Discovered by	L.Bardon, A. Bouyssonie, J. Bouyssonie

La Chapelle-aux Saints 1 (also known as 'The Old Man') is a partial skeleton of the species Homo neanderthalensis. It was discovered in La Chapelle-aux-Saints, France by A. and J. Bouyssonie, and L. Bardon in 1908. The remain were first studied by Marcellin Boule, whose reconstruction of Neandertal anatomy based on la Chapelle-aux-Saints material shaped popular perceptions of the Neandertals for over thirty years. The La Chapelle-aux-Saints specimen is typical of 'classic' Western European Neandertal anatomy. It is estimated to be about 60,000 years old.

Boule's 1911 reconstruction of La Chapelle-aux-Saints 1 depicted Neandertals with a thrust-forward skull, a spine without curvature, bent hips and knees and a divergent big toe. This depiction fit in well with contemporary evolutionary scenarios in which Neandertals were not considered to be direct ancestors of modern humans (the relationship of Neandertals to modern humans remains a major debate in anthropology today). In 1957, the remains were reexamined by Straus and Cave. These researchers correctly depicted Neandertal anatomy as being much more modern; in particular, their posture and gait was more or less identical to that of modern humans. Straus and Cave attributed Boule's errors to the severe osteoarthritis in the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neandertal, although physical anthropologist Erik Trinkaus has suggested that Boule's errors were primarily related to the fragmentary nature of the remains. ^[1]

This specimen had lost many of his teeth, with evidence of healing. All of the mandibular molars were absent and consequently, some researchers suggested that the 'Old Man' would have needed someone to process his food for him. This was widely cited as an example of Neanderthal altruism, similar to Shanidar I. However, later studies have shown that La Chapelle-aux-Saints 1 had a number of incisors, canines and premolars in place and therefore would have been able to chew his own food, although perhaps with some difficulty.^[2]

[edit] References

Images of La Chapelle-aux Saints 1. Retrieved on 2006-07-14.

^ Trinkaus, E. 1985.Pathology and posture of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neandertal. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 67:19–41.
^ Tappen, N.C. 1985. The Dentition of the “Old Man” of La Chapelle-aux-Saints and Inferences Concerning Neandertal Behavior. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 53:43-50.