Neanderthals ran 'fat factories' 125k years ago (2025)

Neanderthal Cognition and Sophistication

• Many see the “fat factories” as further evidence Neanderthals planned ahead, organized large-scale processing, and used logistics-like strategies rather than ad‑hoc survival.
• Some argue the archaeological record still shows simpler tools and fewer rituals than contemporary Homo sapiens, suggesting lower or different sophistication.
• Others counter that the sample of surviving tools is tiny and biased (e.g., missing wood, textiles, perishable structures), so conclusions about their overall culture are uncertain.

Intelligence, IQ, and the Flynn Effect

• A long subthread debates what IQ measures and how it changes over time.
• Points raised:
  • IQ tests are normed distributions, not absolute scales, so rising scores (Flynn effect) must be interpreted carefully.
  • There is disagreement over whether extrapolating Flynn-effect trends backward is meaningful.
  • Some stress environmental factors (nutrition, education, literacy, toxins) as major drivers of measured IQ.
  • Others emphasize that general intelligence appears real and correlated with life outcomes, even if IQ tests are imperfect.
  • One link claims the Flynn effect is waning; others contest that IQ is fixed or purely genetic.

Neanderthals, Evolution, and Extinction

• Several commenters argue Neanderthals were likely comparable in intelligence to early Homo sapiens, but were fewer in number and eventually outcompeted.
• “Outcompeted” is discussed as a mix of higher fertility, adaptability, resource use, and also possible violence, war, and assimilation.
• A common view is that Neanderthals did not simply vanish but were absorbed genetically, leaving a small percentage of DNA in modern Eurasians.
• Some suggest their specialization on megafauna and possibly lower fertility could have made them vulnerable when environments changed.

Hunting, Fat Rendering, and Technology

• The scale of bone processing implies systematic hunting of large herbivores, including straight‑tusked elephants and rhinos.
• Fat rendering is seen as a solution to protein-heavy diets (e.g., avoiding “rabbit starvation”) and as a versatile resource (food, possibly glue or other uses).
• There is discussion of how they heated water without pottery: possibilities include animal skins, skulls, shells, or indirect heating with hot stones; details remain unclear.

Environmental Impact and Megafauna

• The thread highlights evidence that Neanderthals likely had substantial impact on large, slow‑breeding herbivore populations.
• Some note this undercuts the idea that only modern humans drove Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions.

Miscellaneous Tangents

• Technical side-thread on Safari reader mode mis-parsing the article.
• Etymological aside about “Neanderthal,” “thal,” and “dollar.”
• Brief mentions of modern analogs (industrial rendering, bone marrow dishes) and cultural references (fiction, films).