Secrets of the Dead: Caveman Cold Case

Gr 9 Up—Two Neanderthal caves on vastly different sites on the Iberian Peninsula are juxtaposed in this installment of the series. El Sideron is a mountainous region in northern Spain, and Gorham's Cave is located on the Southern tip of the peninsula, in Gibraltar. The latter is considered the last location where Neanderthals lived. While the circumstances of the Neanderthals' demise are still largely unknown, new archeological and forensic research from the ancient sites (El Sideron is over 49,000 years old) provides potentially new insights into how they ultimately became extinct. DNA evidence helps demonstrate the age, gender, and family relationships of the bones found in the caves. Interviews and reenactments with physical anthropologists, excavators, and paleontologists come together to present evidence of cannibalism in northern Spain, despite alternative behavioral understandings of these hominids. Experts suggest extreme climate change as a primary causal factor in their extinction. A compilation of historic research and scientific data stemming from these two sites offers a comparative way to consider the Neanderthal experience. For high school programs and media centers supporting an ancient history curriculum.—Vincent M. Livoti, University of Maine at Augusta