Gibraltar 2

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Gibraltar 2
Common nameGibraltar 2
Species
Homo neanderthalensis
Place discoveredDevil's Tower Mousterian Rock Shelter, Gibraltar
Date discovered1926
Discovered byDorothy Garrod

Gibraltar 2, also known as Devil's Tower Child, represented five skull fragments of a male

excavation of a Neanderthal skull in Gibraltar, after Gibraltar 1, the second Neanderthal skull ever found (after Engis 2). In the early twenty-first century,[when?] Gibraltar 2 underwent reconstruction.[citation needed
]

History of Gibraltar 1

Gibraltar 1 was discovered by Edmund Flint in 1848.

Prehistoric man resided in Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula.[2][3] The evidence was first found in the Devil's Tower Road area, at Forbes' Quarry, in the north face of the Rock of Gibraltar. This was the site of the 1848 discovery of the first Neanderthal skull by Lieutenant Edmund Flint (d. 12 January 1857) of the Royal Artillery.[4][5][6]
The fossil, an adult female skull, is referred to as
British Association for the Advancement of Science, with its similarity to the Neander Valley fossils noted. However, it wasn't until the early twentieth century[when?] that it was realized[by whom?] that Gibraltar 1 was the skull of a Neanderthal. If the skull's significance had been understood in the nineteenth century, Neanderthal Man would probably have been termed "Gibraltar Man".[4][5][6]

Discovery of Gibraltar 2

Archaeologist Dorothy Garrod
discovered Gibraltar 2 in 1926.
Part of a series on the
History of Gibraltar
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Prehistory
Medieval
  • Umayyad conquest of Hispania
  • Al-Andalus
  • Moorish Gibraltar
  • Reconquista
  • First Siege of Gibraltar
  • Second Siege of Gibraltar
  • Third Siege of Gibraltar
  • Fourth Siege of Gibraltar
  • Fifth Siege of Gibraltar
  • Sixth Siege of Gibraltar
  • Seventh Siege of Gibraltar
Early modern
19th century
20th century
Modern Gibraltar
See also
Timeline
flag Gibraltar portal

Additional evidence of Neanderthal occupation in Gibraltar was found at the Devil's Tower Mousterian rock shelter, also at the north face of the Rock of Gibraltar.

paleontologist and archaeologist, is renowned for his expertise on prehistoric cave art.[citation needed
]

The excavations at the Devil's Tower cave started in November 1925 and continued until December 1926 in three phases. In 1926, the skull of a Neanderthal child was discovered by archaeologist Dorothy Garrod.[6][7][8] Garrod, who had studied with Breuil in Paris, went on to perform archaeological excavations in France, Palestine, Kurdistan, and Bulgaria. She was the first female professor at both the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. In addition, in 1939, Garrod was elected to the Disney Chair.[8] Garrod found five skull fragments which were described by the archaeologist and others in The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland in 1928. The five fragments were

flake stone tools were found near the child's remains. The skull of the male Neanderthal child is known as Gibraltar 2 or Devil's Tower Child (pictured above).[5][6][9]

In a study described in 1993 in the

carnivorous.[11] The child is estimated to have been about four years old at the time of death.[12]

By 2008, the face of the Devil's Tower Child had been reconstructed (pictured below) at the

mirror images of the excavated fragments. By means of laser stereolithography, the virtual reconstruction of the face and skull of the Devil's Tower Child was converted to a physical model. The soft tissues were then approximated using 3D Thin Plate Splining (TPS) with data from a modern child. Plasticine modelling clay was accordingly applied on the physical model to simulate soft tissue. The final model of Gibraltar 2 was then cast; finishing touches included paint and human hair (link to final image below).[10]

Gibraltar as a refugium

At the end of the 20th century, it was believed that the Neanderthals disappeared c. 35,000 years ago. In 2006, radiocarbon dating of charcoal from

Homo sapiens in Europe c. 40,000 years ago.[5][6][13] More recently, new decontaminated radiocarbon dating (from the same Oxford laboratory that published the late date in 2006) suggests Neanderthals had vacated Gibraltar by 42,000 BP, earlier than elsewhere in Europe.[citation needed
]

Gallery

References

  1. ^ "A new look at the Gibraltar Neanderthals". Natural History Museum. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  2. Foreign and Commonwealth Office
    . Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  3. ^ Roach, John (13 September 2006). "Neandertals' Last Stand Was in Gibraltar, Study Suggests". National Geographic News. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on November 14, 2006. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  4. ^ a b c "A historical event". 7 Days – Gibraltar's Free Weekly Newspaper. Retrieved 11 October 2012.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^
    S2CID 128419762
    . Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Hominid Hunting – The Rock of Gibraltar: Neanderthals' Last Refuge". Smithsonian Institution. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  7. ^
    JSTOR 4619528
    .
  8. ^
    Newnham College, University of Cambridge
    . Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Gibraltar 2". nespos.org. Nespos. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Computer-Assisted Paleoanthropology". aim.uzh.ch. University of Zurich. 2008. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  11. doi:10.1006/jhev.1993.1004
    .
  12. ^ "Gibraltar Neanderthals in Science and Technology Yearbook" (PDF). Government of Gibraltar. 6 March 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  13. ^ Rincon, Paul (13 September 2006). "Neanderthals' 'last rock refuge'". BBC News. Retrieved 12 October 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gibraltar 2.
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