From Newsgroup: sci.anthropology.paleo

Neandertal Cold Adaptation: Technological, Anatomical, and Physiological Responses to Cold Stress in One of Our Closest Fossil Relatives

Abstract

Neandertals occupied western Eurasia for over 100rCe000rCeyears, repeatedly enduring climates that ranged from seasonally cold to glacial. This
paper reexamines the question of Neandertal cold adaptation using
updated fossil, physiological, and archaeological evidence. While some populations lived outside glacial extremes, all faced periodic cold
stress, and their survival depended on a diverse set of strategies. Technological buffers, including fire use, hide processing tools, and
possible clothing and footwear, likely played a primary role in reducing
cold exposure. Anatomically, Neandertals exhibit high body mass, broad
trunks, and abbreviated limbs, consistent with thermoregulatory
principles. The Neandertal nasal region, long considered paradoxical,
now appears well suited to cold-dry air-conditioning; computational
fluid dynamics and new endoscopic data support a functionally integrated
nasal cavity with substantial internal surface area. Physiological
adaptations remain inferential but plausible, including elevated basal metabolism, energy-dense diets, and potential use of brown adipose
tissue. These factors likely contributed to high total energy
expenditures, enabling thermoregulation in demanding environments.
Rather than a single trait or rCLsignaturerCY adaptation, Neandertals
present an integrated response to cold stress shaped by geography, development, culture, and genetics. This holistic view reframes
Neandertal biology as deeply thermally engaged and sets the stage for
targeted tests of function and mechanism in future research.

Open access:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajhb.70150

Bummer, nothing about snorkel noses.
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From Newsgroup: sci.anthropology.paleo

On 10/7/25 11:50 AM, Pandora wrote:

Neandertals occupied western Eurasia for over 100rCe000rCeyears, repeatedly enduring climates that ranged from seasonally cold to glacial.

One hundred thousand years would net then ONE interglacial (warm)
period -- warmer than our present Holocene -- and one glacial
period, which is what most people refer to as "The Ice Age."

So Neanderthals would have experienced roughly 10 thousand years
of a climate warmer than what civilization has experienced, and
then "Wicked cold."

Well. Not a constant "Wicked Cold."

This
paper reexamines the question of Neandertal cold adaptation using
updated fossil, physiological, and archaeological evidence. While some populations lived outside glacial extremes, all faced periodic cold
stress

Do they mean "Winter?"
--
https://jtem.tumblr.com/tagged/The%20Book%20of%20JTEM/page/5
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From Newsgroup: sci.anthropology.paleo


Pandora <pandora@knoware.nl> posted:

Neandertal Cold Adaptation: Technological, Anatomical, and Physiological Responses to Cold Stress in One of Our Closest Fossil Relatives

Abstract

Neandertals occupied western Eurasia for over 100rCe000rCeyears, repeatedly enduring climates that ranged from seasonally cold to glacial. This
paper reexamines the question of Neandertal cold adaptation using
updated fossil, physiological, and archaeological evidence. While some populations lived outside glacial extremes, all faced periodic cold
stress, and their survival depended on a diverse set of strategies. Technological buffers, including fire use, hide processing tools, and possible clothing and footwear, likely played a primary role in reducing cold exposure. Anatomically, Neandertals exhibit high body mass, broad trunks, and abbreviated limbs, consistent with thermoregulatory
principles. The Neandertal nasal region, long considered paradoxical,
now appears well suited to cold-dry air-conditioning; computational
fluid dynamics and new endoscopic data support a functionally integrated nasal cavity with substantial internal surface area. Physiological adaptations remain inferential but plausible, including elevated basal metabolism, energy-dense diets, and potential use of brown adipose
tissue. These factors likely contributed to high total energy
expenditures, enabling thermoregulation in demanding environments.
Rather than a single trait or rCLsignaturerCY adaptation, Neandertals present an integrated response to cold stress shaped by geography, development, culture, and genetics. This holistic view reframes
Neandertal biology as deeply thermally engaged and sets the stage for targeted tests of function and mechanism in future research.

Open access:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajhb.70150

Bummer, nothing about snorkel noses.

FYI, there were hippos living in the Upper Rhine River of Germany about 40,000 years ago, when H sapiens were arriving there.
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From Newsgroup: sci.anthropology.paleo

Pandora wrote:

Neandertal Cold Adaptation: Technological, Anatomical, and Physiological Responses to Cold Stress in One of Our Closest Fossil Relatives

Abstract

Neandertals occupied western Eurasia for over 100rCe000rCeyears, repeatedly enduring climates that ranged from seasonally cold to glacial. This
paper reexamines the question of Neandertal cold adaptation using
updated fossil, physiological, and archaeological evidence. While some populations lived outside glacial extremes, all faced periodic cold
stress, and their survival depended on a diverse set of strategies. Technological buffers, including fire use, hide processing tools, and possible clothing and footwear, likely played a primary role in reducing cold exposure. Anatomically, Neandertals exhibit high body mass, broad trunks, and abbreviated limbs, consistent with thermoregulatory
principles. The Neandertal nasal region, long considered paradoxical,
now appears well suited to cold-dry air-conditioning; computational
fluid dynamics and new endoscopic data support a functionally integrated nasal cavity with substantial internal surface area. Physiological adaptations remain inferential but plausible, including elevated basal metabolism, energy-dense diets, and potential use of brown adipose
tissue. These factors likely contributed to high total energy
expenditures, enabling thermoregulation in demanding environments.
Rather than a single trait or rCLsignaturerCY adaptation, Neandertals present an integrated response to cold stress shaped by geography, development, culture, and genetics. This holistic view reframes
Neandertal biology as deeply thermally engaged and sets the stage for targeted tests of function and mechanism in future research.

Open access:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajhb.70150

Bummer, nothing about snorkel noses.

Heh. Don't forget the nonsense about nostrils being
on top of the nose.

There is this, however

"The Neandertal nasal region... now appears well suited to
cold-dry air-conditioning..." from the abstract

and

"The Neandertal nose has been described as a
paradox with astrongly projecting external nose
combined with a wide aperture.However, a
respiratoryrCoenergetics framework predicts large
nasal dimensions in large-bodied, high-throughput
foragers; CFD modeling shows Neandertal nasal
cavities could heat andhumidify cold-dry air
comparably to European H. sapiens while
transmitting substantially greater airflow."
from Summary and Conclusions
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