Quick. If I asked you for a word to describe a primitive, ignorant, grunting, unenlightened barbarian, you’d say “Neanderthal.” Imagine our surprise, then, at hearing the stunning news that some researchers think Neanderthals may have been capable of sophisticated speech.
Yes, they actually may have said stuff like, “Stop pounding me with that club,” or “Who borrowed my fire and didn’t return it?” or “What the heck happened to all the dinosaurs?”
So now, Neanderthals will probably get the most monumental image change in history, or, actually, prehistory. I guess I’m happy for them, but I hate to see the English language lose a perfectly good insult. That’s the kind of thing you can’t replace. Here’s the story.
Photo from ABC series “Cavemen”
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4 comments so far
Wow! You haven’t changed one bit since high school.
- Posted by Shawn HendricksPass himself off as Homo Sapien just until he sits down and gives himself a tongue bath… ALL over.
- Posted by Shawn HendricksBath box
Great, hard hitting letter.
- Posted by Bath box[…] when scientists turn stuff upside down and you have to get used to it too quickly, like with that Neanderthal thing a few months […]
- Posted by Turn over a new Leif; liking the Viking - Oddly Enough