Tooth Scan Reveals Neanderthals Traveled More than Thought

posted: 09 February 2008 11:14 am ET

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Analysis of a 40,000-year-oldtooth found in southern Greece suggests Neanderthals were more mobile than oncethought, paleontologists said Friday.

Analysis of the tooth -- part of the first and onlyNeanderthal remains found in Greece -- showed the ancient human had spent atleast part of its life away from the area where it died.

"Neanderthal mobility is highly controversial,''said paleoanthropologist Katerina Harvati at the Max Planck Institute forEvolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.

Some experts believe Neanderthals roamed over verylimited areas, but others say they must have been more mobile, particularlywhen hunting, Harvati said.

Until now, experts only had indirect evidence, includingstone used in tools, Harvati said. "Our analysis is the first that bringsevidence from a Neanderthal fossil itself,'' she said.

The findings by the Max Planck Institute team werepublished in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

The tooth was found in a seaside excavation in Greece'ssouthern Peloponnese region in 2002.

The team analyzed tooth enamel for ratios of a strontiumisotope, a naturally occurring metal found in food and water. Levels of themetal vary in different areas.

Eleni Panagopoulou of the Paleoanthropology-SpeleologyDepartment of Southern Greece said the tooth's levels of strontium showed thatthe Neanderthal grew up at least 12.5 miles from the discovery site.

"Our findings prove that ... their settlementnetworks were broader and more organized than we believed,'' Panagopoulou said.

Clive Finlayson, an expert on Neanderthals and directorof the Gibraltar Museum, disagreed with the finding's significance.

"I would have been surprised if Neanderthals didn'tmove at least 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) in their lifetime, or even in a year... We're talking about humans, not trees,'' Finlayson said.

Associated Press writer Derek Gatopoulos contributed tothis story.