Neandertalogy: Why Should Psychologists Study Neandertals? [Psychologists have so much to offer in understanding Neandertals.]
Neandertals are; the closest human cousins and do in terms if we are extinct about 30,000 years ago. But why do psychologists help in the Neanderthal study? Psychologists study children, adolescents, young adults, and older adults They learn to die and die. They study group and organizational behavior. They studied animals. They studied normal and abnormal behavior. They study evolution. They learn the numbers, where they come from, and how to make their decisions. In short, psychologists study all aspects of behavior. I have even published the profiles of the personality of the dead like Adolf Hitler (Coolidge, Davis, & Segal, 2007) and mythical people like Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pride and Prejudice (Coolidge, 2016) from Jane Austin. Psychologists must study Neanderthals because anthropologists and archaeologists need our help! Neanderthal life and their extinction. And here are some examples of how many disciplines of psychology can contribute to the understanding of our extinct cousins:
Neuropsychological Biopsychology: Neanderthals need 35% more calories to process and just walk because their bodies are stronger than Homo sapiens that live at the same time. They can only get extra calories from meat, although they have a variety of foods. However, with a thinner 'gracile' body, Homo sapiens can depend on fewer meat meals. Is the lack of big game a reason for the Neanderthal extinction? Neandertals have about 10% larger brains than Homo sapiens. Does it make them smarter? If so, why are they extinct? Homo sapiens has a larger parietal lobe, larger temporal lobe, larger cerebellum, larger olfactory but smaller occipital lobes. What are the potential neuropsychological consequences of this brain difference, if any? If there are behavioral consequences, do they have anything to do with the Neanderthal extinction? Interestingly, a new study suggests that modern (smaller, more rounded) brain forms in Homo sapiens only occurred for 100,000 to 35,000 years ago.
Quantitative and Statistics Psychology: The brain is not fossilized but there is a skull but no power to think about how to fly to draw prey How anthropologists (and specifically paleoneurologists) know that the Neandertal brain is formed differently from Homo sapiens? Interestingly, some anthropology programs do not even require basic statistics courses and few require advanced statistics courses (in graduate programs). So how do we know that Neanderthals have different brains than Homo sapiens? Determining differences in brain shape of the skull requires a factor analysis or a major component analysis, and most postgraduate programs in psychology do offer multivariate statistics programs.
Existential Psychology: Neanderthals deliberately bury their dead, to guard against hormonal stabials like Homo sapiens does but only the latter adds grave items such as beads and ornamental ivory discs. There is very good evidence for every grave in the Neandertal tomb, for example, pollen and animal jaw, and it is highly controversial, so-called intentional or unintentional. Why do humans use grave goods? Is it to alleviate the feelings of survivors or does it reflect a spirit of spiritual, religious, or supernatural? Are there no graves in Neanderthal tombs that say about seeing them about the future or the hereafter?
The Evolution of Psychology: The course of evolution is characterized by a period of stasis to work clearly even long, and sudden changes (punctuated equilibrium), and extinction. Why did the Neanderthals go extinct after living in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia successfully for hundreds of thousands of years? Modern humans (with different forms and smaller brains) moved to Europe only about 45,000 years ago. Neanderthals became extinct soon after. Have the Neanderthals already brought evolutionary seeds from their own destruction like countless other species in the history of life? Or does modern Homo sapiens exert an evolutionary emphasis on Neanderthals that the latter can not handle?
Art and Aesthetic Psychology: What is symbolism? According to the gold standard (sic) of all human knowledge today, Wikipedia, it is 'something' that reflects an idea. When Pavlov's dog is doused to the bell, is it a symbol? When is the abstract symbolization and when is it just a classic conditioning example? About 100,000 years ago, a Neandertal took a small round pebble with a straight slit in it, and he stretched over the tangential. Many anthropologists claim that this etch is symbolic. About 41,000 years ago, a Neandertal carved a partial tic-tac-toe design in the Gibraltar cave. Some of the anthropologies used are evidence for symbolism and abstract effort. Does this reflect the fair or should we use Occam's overlap (the simplest explanation)? If we use the Occam Knifepin, are we unfair to Neanderthals?