Once again Officer
Steinbeck began to supervise his crew members. “I want all the cameras focused on that
crevice that leads to the plateau below. If I’m guessing right, they will
ambush that large animal as it passes directly below them.” The crew watched as the hunters began to
assemble large boulders near the edge of the cliff.
When
the animal was directly below them, each tribe member picked up a large jagged
rock and lifted it over his head. The
leader of the tribe gave the signal with whistles and loud, high-pitch sounds. As the command was given, large heavy boulders
were thrown by each member of the tribe, striking the animal with thunderous
blows that echoed throughout the plateau. The animal let out screams of pain as each
rock hit with a killing force. When the
beast fell to its knees and was dying, the blood saturated the white snow. Quickly the tribesmen ran down the pathway
that led to the plateau below. With
their spears held high, they thrust them into the animal’s body to secure their
prey. When the animal lay still, a high-pitch
sound was made by all the hunters as a victory signal. The men danced around the dead animal using
all kinds of body movements with their arms, legs, and heads.
As the tribe members
began to skin the fallen animal, a loud whistle was heard in the distance. The whistle was repeated by the leader of the
tribe as if saying, “We’re over here!” Before
long, all of the hunters had settled around the dead beast. Each member took turns skinning the animal or
cutting large chunks of flesh that they placed in some kind of woven basket
made out of sticks and vines. Several
trips had to be made by the tribe members to carry the baskets of meat back to
the cave. The animal’s hide was stripped
of all meat and carried back in a bundle to the cave. Inside the cave it was stretched tight. Stakes were driven into the ground to hold it
in place. The head of the animal was
split in two, the brain was removed, and several tribe members took turns
rubbing the brain matter all over the stretched hide! Within a few days, several other tribesmen
showed up at the cave.
Officer Steinbeck told
his crew members to make sure they got as many camera shots as possible of the
surrounding tribe members.” Most of them
looked alike – strongly built, with the same features as the cave tribe people
that they had been observing for the last week or so. What Officer Steinbeck couldn’t understand was
how the other tribe members knew about the kill. Evidently the different tribe members shared
their food after the kill of a large animal.
As the crew members gathered
their gear and prepared to leave the cave, they made sure that everything was
generally the way they found it when they arrived. In a receptacle they carried their collection
of small objects for later observation; in their cameras they had stored
recordings for analysis. The four men
eagerly made a quick return trip to the spacecraft.
Officer Steinbeck
called his men together for a short meeting. “Men,” he began, “I want to thank you for a job
well done! We have secured enough film footage to make a comparison study of
the next tribe we will investigate. But before we leave, there are a few other
things we must do. I want to collect DNA samples of these cave people. We will
need hair samples of as many individuals as possible, including the young and
old tribe members. We also need stool samples to study their diet. You will
collect the same amount of blood samples from each of the tribe members. If we
could find the skull of one of the dead members, we would get a good DNA sample
in case all else fails. The skull will also be a great asset for the lab people
to study, concerning the size of the brain and other characteristics that
indicate the age. All of this can be done while the cave people are asleep. Are
there any questions?”
After all of the
experiments were performed, the crew members were back aboard the spacecraft. The film and the DNA samples were turned over
to the proper authorities for further analysis. Officer Steinbeck called for a meeting in his
office. “Men, in a couple more days, we
will do another exploratory observation of another tribe of creatures called
Cro-Magnon. We know there are subtle differences between the two tribes. Our
mission is to find out the differences … and similarities, if any … and make a
comparison study to see if it is possible for the two tribes to intermingle and
produce mixed offspring. If by chance some sibling offspring can be found, that
would be a whole new study in itself. It would demonstrate a whole new hybrid
or possibly a new genetic strain of evolutionary advancement. I want all of you
to have a furlough that will be duty-free. You may rest at the R&R (rest
and relaxation) station, for seven days and seven nights. Thank you for a job
well done!”
At the end of the one-week
furlough, the crew was well rested. They
were briefed on their next expedition that would last about two weeks as
previous. The equipment was checked,
tested, and adjusted to accommodate more activity outside of the caves. “Officer Steinbeck began to explain the
mission. “The next tribe members we will
observe are called the Cro-Magnon. Prior research has shown that these
creatures may be a little more advanced in the evolutionary scale than the
Neanderthal tribes were at the same time of our observation. There are several
factors I want you to capture on your observation cameras. We will observe
their social customs, hunting tactics, and skills at making objects like
clothing, jewelry, weapons, or anything different than the Neanderthal skills.
I would also like to observe any interaction that may take place between the
two tribes. Pay special attention to how the males and females from different
tribes react to each other. Once again, I want to thank you for all that you
have done and are about to do in the name of research.”
The Cro-Magnon tribes
were located a little south of the Neanderthal caves. The village was more on the planes and in the
valleys of the mountains. The Cro-Magnon
tribes made their dwellings out of large mammal tusk, bones, and other remains.
The villages consisted of several huts
grouped together. Even though they were
permanent structures, they could be moved if necessary. Each hut’s frame was covered with animal hides
and furs that were all stitched together over the structure. A long root-like fiber was interwoven around
the frame to hold the coverings and structure together. Inside the hut were many objects made by the Cro-Magnon
females and the males. The females were
making jewelry out of shells and bones. On
large teeth and pieces of ivory, the males were carving intricate details about
their hunting skills and other skills that they were proud of. Each carving depicted a story or history about
the tribe members. There were several
musical instruments like flutes made of bone and wood; there were also
primitive drums and several objects that could be rattled when shaken with the
hands. There were several atlatl spear
throwers near a group of bows and arrows, along with two long spears, perhaps
10 feet long. When we observed a tribe
of Cro-Magnon members attacking a large hairy animal with large tusks, many of
the tribe members were using the atlatl. It was a modified device used to throw
spears with a greater velocity and longer distance. It was thrown from a notch in a spear which
gave it more leverage and a much greater killing distance. The long spear was also used, but the hunter
had to get much closer to the wild beast to kill it. On closer observation, the Cro-Magnon tribe
seemed to be a little more advanced in some ways than the Neanderthal tribe. The women were doing their stitching with some
kind of bone needle that seemed to make the work go quicker, and it looked a
lot easier to work with. Outside of the
hut near a little stream was a log that was somewhat hollowed out. It was either pushed or paddled by a long
pole. Inside the burned-out part of the
log was a seat used by a tribe member for riding the makeshift canoe. A series of different size bone fishhooks were
visible on the side of the log. The
Cro-Magnon tribe seemed to be able to communicate by voice. Whenever the elder spoke, the other tribe
members seemed to know or understand what he wanted them to do. When an elder spoke a large, peculiar horn was
brought to him. The horn had a hole
carved out at the tip end of the hollow instrument. When the elder held the horn up to his lips,
he blew several times through the horn. The
sound of the horn was similar to what they heard from large beasts being
killed. The sounds were made at
different intervals so they could be heard one by one. Each sound reverberated in the mountains from
one mountain to the other until one sound could be heard three or four times as
the echoes bounced off the walls of the canyon. When the old tribesman was satisfied with the
sounds he had produced, he gave the horn back to one of the younger tribesmen. Before he could put the horn away, a sound of
another horn was answering back! Within
a short period of time, other tribesmen began to climb down from the mountains
and enter the village of the Cro-Magnon tribe.
“Get ready,” ordered Officer Steinbeck to his camera men. “We are about to see how the different tribes
communicate and interact between each other. Make sure you get some sound and
pictures of as many tribesmen as possible. I want close-up shots of
expressions, like laughter, surprise, and anything else you find interesting.” As the tribe members assembled around the
village elders, there were large chunks of meat slowly being turned on several
fires throughout the village. A few
gifts were exchanged in the forms of necklaces, tools, and musical instruments.
It soon became obvious that a joint feast
was about to take place among the neighboring tribes. Officer Steinbeck noticed several obvious
differences between the tribes. He
directed his camera crew to get close-up shots of some of the tribes he called
hybrids. The hybrids were part of the
Neanderthal tribes that lived high in the mountains.
(Part Two of the novella by George F.
Kohn, author of Holiday Favorites series available on Amazon.com)
For the rest of the story, order your
copy of Neanderthal versus Cro-Magnon, published for Kindle e-readers and
paperback. Amazon search: Holiday
Favorites by George F. Kohn.)
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