DISCOVERY CHANNEL CONTINUES WITH ITS EVOLUTION DECEPTION IN THE FACE OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES

Neanderthal Man Was a Real Human Being

A documentary by the name of "The Fate of The Neanderthal Man" was recently screened by Discovery Channel Turkey. Throughout the program there was intense evolutionist propaganda, with Neanderthal Man being referred to as a kind of ape-man.

As well as special footage developed with models whose facial features had been coarsened with special make-up, space was also devoted to the speculation of evolutionist scientists.

The fact is, however, that research over recent years has thrown up findings definitively establishing that the Neanderthals were true human beings. Evolutionist broadcasting institutions such as Discovery Channel seek to maintain the "primitive Neanderthal Man" image, formed 150 years ago, by ignoring these findings.

The idea that the Neanderthals were a primitive species is an evolutionist deception maintained for propaganda purposes. The Neanderthals are in fact an extinct or assimilated human race.

The Story of Neanderthal Man

Neanderthal Man first entered scientific literature in 1856 with the fossils discovered in the Neander valley near the German city of Dusseldorf. The lines of the bones of the skull and body led to the fossils being interpreted by evolutionists as a primitive species.

In 1908 a near-complete skeleton established as belonging to Neanderthal man was discovered in the La Chapelle-aux-Saints region of France. The bones were assembled by Marcellin Boule, a famous palaeontologist and geologist of the time.

The Neanderthal Man which emerged as a result of that assembly had a stooped posture and a protruding skull. Moreover, its limbs remained locked at the joints, making it unable to stand fully erect.

This ape-like appearance fixed the Neanderthals as primitive creatures in peoples' minds. They were depicted as primitive ape-men in pictures.

This erroneous view of the Neanderthals lasted for 100 years. Analyses of the La Chapelle skeleton in the 1950s established that this Neanderthal man had a kind of joint infection. In fact, they were healthy individuals were able to walk upright like normal human beings.

In 1985 that same skeleton was examined by the anthropologist Erik Trinkhaus. As well as confirming that Neanderthals were capable of walking upright, this study also revealed a fact that had hitherto remained hidden: Marcellin Boule had deliberately portrayed the Neanderthal as stooped. 1 The joint disease discovered in the 1950s was no obstacle to walking upright. It appears that the evolutionist Boule had been unwilling to accept that the Neanderthal was able to walk upright like a true human being.

The size of the Neanderthals' skull volume also forced the evolutionists into an inconsistent position. The reason is that the Neanderthal skull volume is around 1700 cc, some 200 cc larger than that of modern-day man. For Neanderthal Man, with a larger skull than Homo sapiens, to be an allegedly 'primitive' species in terms of evolution represents a major difficulty for the theory. This contradiction takes the following form:

From the point of view of scientists comparing man with chimpanzees, a large brain represents an evolutionary advantage. However, according to evolutionists, Neanderthal Man, with a larger brain volume than Homo sapiens, was a species which was eliminated and is regarded as 'primitive.' The question that arises is this: If a large brain did indeed emerge by evolution and is an advantage giving rise to superiority, why are the Neanderthals an eliminated species?

On Discovery Channel this question is glossed over with superficial and meaningless expressions such as, "nature invested in the Neanderthal brain."

Explanations like this, which ascribe to nature the power to make investments, once again demonstrate that the theory of evolution is an extension of materialist and naturalist philosophy.

Discovery Channel Fails to Reflect the True Level of Neanderthal Culture

In the program broadcast on Discovery Channel it is claimed that Neanderthal Man was very backward in terms of his cultural level. It was also suggested that in all likelihood his inability to match the technological and cultural level of Homo sapiens played a role in his disappearance 35,000 years ago. Some anthropologists, however, claim that the Neanderthals have come down to the present day by interbreeding with Homo sapiens.

Whatever the situation may be, the idea that the Neanderthals were culturally primitive is a mistaken one. Recent findings have revealed that the Neanderthals lived culturally rich lives.

The first of these was discovered in Iraq in 1971. A large number of Neanderthal bodies were found, and it was realized that these had been deliberately buried. Furthermore, the finding of large quantities of pollen in the cave showed that the dead had been buried with flowers. The fact that they were able to hold such a ceremony is one of the first important pieces of evidence that Neanderthals possessed culture and intelligence. It has been established that of 345 Neanderthals unearthed in 83 separate locations since 1998, 183 (or 53%) had been specially buried. 2

The Neanderthals, who possessed a grave culture, were also able to speak. A prominent authority on the subject, Erik Trinkhaus, a paleoanthropologist from New Mexico University, writes:

Detailed comparisons of Neanderthal skeletal remains with those of modern humans have shown that there is nothing in Neanderthal anatomy that conclusively indicates locomotor, manipulative, intellectual, or linguistic abilities inferior to those of modern humans. 3

Continuing archaeological excavations have revealed that Neanderthal culture went even further than has been supposed. A number of Neanderthal accessories were discovered in 1996. Among these was a bone flute capable of playing four notes. The New York University archaeologist Randall White says:

The more this kind of evidence accumulates, the more they look like us. 4

Discovery Channel mentioned the flute and the grave findings, but again refused to abandon its evolutionist propaganda. Throughout the documentary, Neanderthals and Homo sapiens were compared and it was claimed that the Neanderthals were unable to speak and were eliminated by the superior Homo sapiens.

It should be known that these claims expressed by Discovery Channel have no scientific basis to them. (For details, see (http://www.darwinismrefuted.com/origin_of_man_06.html)

As we have seen, not one finding suggests that the Neanderthals were a "primitive species." On the contrary, the findings show that the Neanderthals possessed intelligence and the power of speech, like us, and were a culture-producing human race. The sensationalist broadcasts of Discovery Channel and similar popular evolutionist broadcasting institutions are nothing more than Darwinist propaganda, far removed from or else distorting the scientific facts.

1) Erik Trinkhaus, (1985) “Pathology and the posture of the La Chappelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal,” American Journal of Physical Anthropology, vol. 67, pp. 19-41.
2) Marvin Lubenow, “Recovery of Neandertal mtDNA: An Evaluation,” First published in: Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal 12(1):87–98, 1998 (http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/4218tj_v12n1.asp#r14)
3) Erik Trinkaus, "Hard Times Among the Neanderthals," Natural History, vol. 87, December 1978, p. 10; R. L. Holloway, "The Neanderthal Brain: What Was Primitive," American Journal of Physical Anthropology Supplement, vol. 12, 1991, p. 94. (emphasis added)
4) Tim Folger and Shanti Menon, “…Or Much Like Us?” Discover Magazine, January 1997.