Claim CC051.1:
Neanderthals were modern humans with rickets.
Source:
Lubenow, Marvin L., 1992. Bones of Contention: A creationist assessment
of the human fossils. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, pp. 149-156.
Response:
- The signs of rickets differ from Neanderthal fossils in several
respects, including the following:
- People with rickets are undernourished and calcium-poor; their
bones are weak. Neanderthal bones are fifty percent thicker than
the average human's.
- Evidence of rickets is easily detectable, especially on the ends of
the long bones of the body. This evidence is not found in
Neanderthals.
- Rickets causes a sideways curvature of the femur. Neanderthal
femurs bend backward.
Virchow, who first reported the possibility of rickets in a
Neanderthal,
did not cite it alone. He said the fossil had rickets in early
childhood, head injuries in middle age, and arthritis in old age. It
is doubtful that an entire population suffered these same afflictions.
- Lubenow attributes rickets to a post-Flood ice age, with heavy cloud
cover, shelter, and clothing, and a lack of vitamin D. But the
greatest differences from modern humans, seen in Homo erectus, are
found mostly in tropical areas.
Links:
Foley, Jim, 2002. Creationist arguments: Neandertals.
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/a_neands.html
created 2003-3-26
