An artist’s rendition of what the newly-discovered Blacktip Island Neanderthals, and the island, might have looked like 500,000 years ago. (illustration by Wendy Beaufort/BTT)
Hikers exploring caves in Blacktip Island’s rugged interior Wednesday discovered what experts have identified as the only known Neanderthal site in the Western Hemisphere.
“We hacked through brush for an hour, and were excited to be the first ones to find the cave,” Gage Hoase said. “Then we saw the fire pit and wall paintings and got totally bummed out. Somebody’d gotten there first. We thought it was left over from a wild party.
“Then the university people went all apeshit and had me take them out there,” Hoase said. “They tore into taking photos and measuring everything. We didn’t get what the big deal was about until they told us what was up. So, technically, we were the first ones in the cave . . . after about 500,000 years.”
Tiperon University-Blacktip archeologists are keeping the finds under wraps.
“We’re not telling anyone where the cave is,” Vera Cuda said. “And any artefacts we’ve removed from the site are being kept in a safe until our findings can be verified. In general, though, we found bones, stone tools, goddess figurines and hunt scenes painted on the walls.
“From the animals depicted in the paintings, this group hunted, and lived on, prehistoric cave iguanas and giant cave-land crabs, Cuda said. “The hominid bones, and how they were arranged, suggest a funeral ceremony of some sort. It’s too early to say much more than that. We definitely have our work cut out for us.”
Others focused on how the Neanderthals came to Blacktip Island.
“Neanderthals’ range was limited to southern Europe and the Near East,” historian Angela Fisher said. “This is the only site like this outside that area. Our working theory is they somehow crossed on a land bridge when the sea levels were lower, then were stranded when the glaciers melted and the water rose.
“We know Neanderthals had basic boating skills, but nothing that could accomplish an Atlantic crossing,” Fisher said. “With the current sea level, you can only go down so far in the cave. We reckon they used that brackish water as their water source.”
Some residents questioned the find.
“If Neanderthals migrated to Blacktip from Europe, why’s there no fossil evidence between there and here?” Lee Helm said. “What makes way more sense is convergent evolution, where this Caribbean group evolved independently from the European ones.”
Others embraced the idea.
“Sloping forehead, heavy brows, communicates in grunts?” Val Schrader said. “Yep, that’s a Blacktipper, all right. Totally tracks.”
The Blacktip Times 