lightly freckled, was more prognathous than the child’s, dominated by a projecting nose and swept-back cheekbones. The sloping forehead shelved into a heavy brow ridge, and icy blue eyes gave her a momentary start.
At first she thought the chin had been sheared away, but then she saw that it slanted back into a massive jaw. Bending closer, she saw that the throat was torn away. The destruction extended to the bloody rawhide shirt, partially baring a massive rib cage. Judging from the breadth of shoulder, barrel chest, and bulging pectorals, this was a male. One who, although perhaps half a foot shorter than the woman, would make the most rugged professional wrestler look puny.
Calder came up behind her again, and she moved a few feet toward the two animals at the rear of the cave.
She heard Calder mutter, “Classic Neanderthal. I was right about the complexion. The hair is blond instead of ginger, but that’s even better.”
She turned, careful to balance her tank air tank. “What do you mean?”
“ I believe this is where Northern Europeans got their blond hair and blue eyes.”
“ How could that be?”
He gestured at the man’s hair, which looked as light as the blondest Finn’s, though somewhat coarse. “Incoming European hunter-gatherers acquired the gene for fairness from the Neanderthals and retained it to help them make vitamin D from weak sunlight at high latitudes.”
“ You can’t know that,” she said, trying to enunciate clearly around her mouthpiece. “Only fragments of Neanderthal genes have been recovered.”
“ You can also see it in Northern Europeans’ prominent noses and facial prognathism.” He turned his head to stare at her. “Cro-Magnons interbred with Neanderthals.”
Multiregional Evolution again! Despite her euphoria over what they had found, Blaine felt a touch of annoyance.
“ Then why don’t we see their genes?”
“ They’ve been swamped out,” his muffled voice said. “But their influence remains. Even I know that it doesn’t take much gene change to alter external characteristics. Modern humans, in all their apparent variety, differ from each other by only a few genes.”
“ It’s way too early to draw an interbreeding conclusion.” Blaine indicated the woman. “Even though she’s anatomically modern, with that narrow skull she hardly looks like a direct progenitor of Europeans.”
“ Why do you say that?” Even under Calder’s facemask, his quizzical expression was obvious. “She probably has a lower cephalic index than most moderns, even Europeans. But dolichocephalism alone—”
“ Look at the rest of her,” Blaine said. “She’s quite dark, tall, and muscular. Much more so than your typical European.”
She stepped toward the body, slipped again, and caught herself. If I fall and break my regulator . . . She felt Calder steady her shoulders.
“ She’s swarthy because her people migrated from Africa, where they needed protection from ultraviolet rays,” he said. “They probably sojourned in the Levant and the Caucasus, but not long enough to wipe out the effect.”
“ Supposition again. Any scientist worth his salt—”
“ And she’s tall and muscular because the original anatomically modern humans were a couple of inches taller than today’s average European. And the muscle attachments on their bones show they were more robust.”
“ She also looks to have an unusually voluminous brain,” Blaine said, not wanting to spend precious time arguing. “Even considering her large size.”
“ Yes, Cro-Magnons had larger brains than modern people. As did the Neanderthals.” Calder’s tone turned sardonic. “Facts that have gone curiously unpublicized by both scientists and laymen.”
“ Let’s see what else we’ve got,” Blaine said, though what they had already seen had overwhelmed her almost beyond the ability to think.
Calder nodded, and they plodded over a rising floor toward the rear of the cave, the light from
At first she thought the chin had been sheared away, but then she saw that it slanted back into a massive jaw. Bending closer, she saw that the throat was torn away. The destruction extended to the bloody rawhide shirt, partially baring a massive rib cage. Judging from the breadth of shoulder, barrel chest, and bulging pectorals, this was a male. One who, although perhaps half a foot shorter than the woman, would make the most rugged professional wrestler look puny.
Calder came up behind her again, and she moved a few feet toward the two animals at the rear of the cave.
She heard Calder mutter, “Classic Neanderthal. I was right about the complexion. The hair is blond instead of ginger, but that’s even better.”
She turned, careful to balance her tank air tank. “What do you mean?”
“ I believe this is where Northern Europeans got their blond hair and blue eyes.”
“ How could that be?”
He gestured at the man’s hair, which looked as light as the blondest Finn’s, though somewhat coarse. “Incoming European hunter-gatherers acquired the gene for fairness from the Neanderthals and retained it to help them make vitamin D from weak sunlight at high latitudes.”
“ You can’t know that,” she said, trying to enunciate clearly around her mouthpiece. “Only fragments of Neanderthal genes have been recovered.”
“ You can also see it in Northern Europeans’ prominent noses and facial prognathism.” He turned his head to stare at her. “Cro-Magnons interbred with Neanderthals.”
Multiregional Evolution again! Despite her euphoria over what they had found, Blaine felt a touch of annoyance.
“ Then why don’t we see their genes?”
“ They’ve been swamped out,” his muffled voice said. “But their influence remains. Even I know that it doesn’t take much gene change to alter external characteristics. Modern humans, in all their apparent variety, differ from each other by only a few genes.”
“ It’s way too early to draw an interbreeding conclusion.” Blaine indicated the woman. “Even though she’s anatomically modern, with that narrow skull she hardly looks like a direct progenitor of Europeans.”
“ Why do you say that?” Even under Calder’s facemask, his quizzical expression was obvious. “She probably has a lower cephalic index than most moderns, even Europeans. But dolichocephalism alone—”
“ Look at the rest of her,” Blaine said. “She’s quite dark, tall, and muscular. Much more so than your typical European.”
She stepped toward the body, slipped again, and caught herself. If I fall and break my regulator . . . She felt Calder steady her shoulders.
“ She’s swarthy because her people migrated from Africa, where they needed protection from ultraviolet rays,” he said. “They probably sojourned in the Levant and the Caucasus, but not long enough to wipe out the effect.”
“ Supposition again. Any scientist worth his salt—”
“ And she’s tall and muscular because the original anatomically modern humans were a couple of inches taller than today’s average European. And the muscle attachments on their bones show they were more robust.”
“ She also looks to have an unusually voluminous brain,” Blaine said, not wanting to spend precious time arguing. “Even considering her large size.”
“ Yes, Cro-Magnons had larger brains than modern people. As did the Neanderthals.” Calder’s tone turned sardonic. “Facts that have gone curiously unpublicized by both scientists and laymen.”
“ Let’s see what else we’ve got,” Blaine said, though what they had already seen had overwhelmed her almost beyond the ability to think.
Calder nodded, and they plodded over a rising floor toward the rear of the cave, the light from
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