Bioadvantages of Neanderthals pdf

Neanderthal bio-advantages in volcanic, open land & cave environments, and their socio-cultural impact AMANDA LAOUPI – Dr Archaeologist / Environmentalist / Disaster Specialist https://archaeodisasters.blogspot.gr/ alaoupi@gmail.com

Abstract Extended research has shown that the environmental stimuli triggered biomechanical and biochemical alterations in human species since the early Palaeolithic times (Laoupi, 2011; Laoupi, 2016). One unique example is the fact that our remote ancestors chose repeatedly the volcanic environments, where they survived, lived, reproduced and evolved. Other biogenetic alterations helped also Neanderthals to survive in harsh conditions. Even more caves with their ionized internal atmosphere, acoustics, biochemical composition and soothing impact were healing places for humans, places of initiation, education and mystic allegories (Laoupi, 2007).

The volcanic landscapes and their positive impact on human health Some of the most numerous and extensive finds of fossil and archaeological material relating to the earliest phases of human evolution (eg Rift Valley, Jordan Rift, S. Caucasus, Sangiran Dome in Indonesia) are no coincidence, indicating a relationship between distinctive, topographically complex volcanic landscapes (faultbounded basins, uplifted terrain, ubiquitous volcanoes, lava fields) and water bodies, that deserves closer investigation.

Hominines' dispersal followed also the same patterns. Springfed water sources provided potable water, adequate iodine and other micronutrients as cobaltium and selenium, along with bedrocks and sediments containing iodine. The ideal spots to find big game in Pleistocene were soils underlain or surrounded by volcanic sediments (Massif Central, France) is also one of the prominent Palaeolithic examples.

Later on, during the last five millennia, the Neolithic era gives rise to five historical civilizations principal hearths, more or less correlated with volcanic areas: (1) The Mediterranean-Middle- East - Zagros & Aegean Sea recent faults, Miocene/Current Cyclades archipelago volcanicity, (2) India - Indus hollow fracture, (3) China Tancheng-Lujiang and Xingan-Taihang Earth's crust fractures zone and Quaternary major faults, Taihang mountains risings and quaternary cracks, (4) Mexico – volcanic Top-Plates, and (5) Peru - Andes Cordilleras volcanic HighGrounds.

Especially the Pleistocene interglacial and Holocene landscapes of France were extremely favourable to humans, with lush vegetation, rich fauna, fertile soils

and abundant tool-fit materials. The most recent stage of biotopes‟ full exploitation comes with the Neolithic, ca 5000 BC., through a gradual ecological / economic readaptation. All these volcanic sceneries seemed to enhance the pastoral / agricultural processes (Raynal & Daugas, 1984: 7 – 20; Daugas & Raynal, 1988; Guilaine, 1998).

After Raynal & Daugas, 1984: p. 17, Table 2.

Climatic chronology, volcanic activity and human occupation in Massif Central, between 200.000 and 30.000 years BP. Note the reduced volcanic activity during Riss and first half of Wűrm Glacial in Basse-Auvergne. On the contrary, an intense volcanic activity took place during the end of Lower Wűrm. Absolute dates from D. MIALLIER (1982) & G. GUERIN (1983). Climatochronologies from H. LAVILLE, J.P. RAYNAL & J.P. TEXIER (1984)

On the other hand, the volcanic earths were known since antiquity to have medical properties (Laoupi, 2006). The „flame of Hephaistos‟ or his „red breath‟ (characterized as purest flame) was a leit motif among ancients (Orphic Hymn 66 to Hephaestus; Homer Iliad, II.426, IX.467, XVII.88 & XXIII.33 and Odyssey xiv.71; Hesiod Theogony, 864; Aristophanes Birds, 436; Quintus Smyrnaeus, 13.170,13. 367 & 4.160; Suidas, s.v. 'Hephaistos'). Although ancient writers mention it together with Keian, Cappadocian and Sinopic earths, all four being identified as red earths, Pliny‟s comment makes the difference. This earth (terra lemnia, rubricata or sigillata) resembles cinnabar (35.14), it had a pleasant taste, too, while Galen (13.246b) adds that “it differs from miltos because it doesn‟t leave a stain when handled”. The same writer, during his visit to Hephaestias , analyzes the myth of Hephaistos and his relationship with Lemnos, saying that “the mythical hill, also known as Mosychlos, appeared to be burnt due to its color and from the fact that nothing grows on it”.

Belon, during his journey in the 16th cent., refers also to the yellow/white colors of the earth, equally explained by the presence of hydrothermally altered rocks. The ritual of its extraction highlights its peculiarity (Hall & Photos-Jones, 2008: 1034 1049). The god himself was characterized as an „aithaloeis theos‟, meaning the sooty god (Suidas , s.v. 'Aithaloeis theos') and in Lemnos, Hephaestus was worshipped as a god of healing, his priests possessing antidotes to poisons. Later on, the priestesses of Artemis had the right to use this earth (Photos-Jones & Hall, 2011).

Not surprisingly, volcanic environments, even being highly risky, they have lot to offer to humans. The slopes of volcanoes and the surrounding regions are covered with rich, volcanic soil that gives lush vegetation and blooming ecosystems.

Volcanoes also create brand new islands. Over hundreds of thousands of years, these volcanoes breached the surface of the ocean /sea becoming habitable islands, and rest stops during long sea journeys. Unique species of plants and animals evolved into new forms on these islands, creating balanced ecosystems.

Another volcano benefits are the many precious gems and building materials that can only come from volcanoes. Opals and obsidian are produced in volcanoes.

Volcanic eruptions produce pumice stones, which people have used to remove excess skin. Hardened volcanic ash, called tuff makes a strong, lightweight building material.

Even more, regions of volcanic activity are enormous sources of geothermal energy with its healing properties, appreciated thousand years before modern era. Hominids and humans by instinct weighed the negative impacts against the positive impacts and repeatedly chose to live under the shadows of volcanoes.

The physical traits of Obsidian (fire element) are associated with the relief of pain and its energies enhance vigor, strength, stamina, constancy, permanence, tenacity, courage and self-control; it is considered as the stone of entrepreneurs and inventors. It prevents the flow of negative energy, humans perceived obsidian as a stone of protection and honesty, bringing out the warrior spirit. In Chakra healing, Obsidian reflects the base chakra that controls our “grounding” to the Earth, being associated with all our survival instincts and self-preservation; relating also to the physical body, individuality, stability and security.

Chakra(< Sanskrit “wheel”) is like a vortex, a constantly revolving wheel of energy. These vortexes connect the subtle bodies and act as transducers for life-force energy. Chakras distribute the life force through the physical and subtle bodies. They are the source of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energy. Traditionally, there are nine major chakras associated with the physical body, counting two above the head within the etheric field, which are not normally referred to. They are aligned with the spine and located in the base of the spine, the lower abdomen (sacral), the solar plexus, the heart, the throat, the centre of the forehead (third eye), and the crown of the head. When our chakras are blocked, or not in balance, the free flow of energy is impeded, leading to physical, emotional, mental or spiritual disease. When the chakras are unblocked and free-flowing, however, we enjoy optimum health. Each chakra is associated with specific colours and crystals and governs different aspects of human emotion and behaviour. Using crystals with the chakras can have a great healing effect.

So, Obsidian aids the digestion and detoxifies. It reduces arthritis pain, joint problems and cramps. Moreover, it brings clarity to the mind and clears confusion, by dissolving emotional blockages and ancient traumas. Worth mentioning that Obsidian is a very powerful stone, one which reminds us that birth and death are simultaneously and constantly present, one with the other, always as one, an experience lived by our remote ancestors in volcanic landscapes, both fertile and deadly. This is a stone that has always been associated with guardian spirits that watch over us, and is connected to protection on all levels. Although most people are familiar with the regular black obsidian, there are several other types including: Apache Tear, Blue, Blue/Green, Gold Sheen, Mahogany, Rainbow, Red, Silver Sheen and Snowflake. Obsidian can be found almost anywhere there has been volcanic activity in the past, but not all the sources are currently being mined. Most mining is done in Armenia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Java, Kenya, Mexico, New

Zealand, Scotland, Turkey, and United States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas & Utah). Mayan Priests used scrying mirrors made of obsidian for foretell the future. They called the mirrors, “smoking mirrors”, as black Obsidian, is a diviner's stone (Brennen, 1987; Stein, 1987; Gardner, 1988; Melody, 1995; Stein, 1996).

In parallel, vortices are high energy spots on the Earth, due to its Electromagnetic field. NASA research has proved that the human energy field is tuned in to certain „Earth Waves‟. These „hot spots‟ are linked by Ley lines (energy lines). Earth vortices are analogous to the chakras in the human body. Ley lines are alleged alignments of a number of places of geographical interest, such as ancient monuments and megaliths that are thought by certain adherents to dowsing and New Age beliefs to have spiritual power. Plato recognized grids and their patterns, devising a theory that the Earth's basic structure evolved from a simple geometric shapes to more complex ones. These shapes became known as platonic solids: cube (4), tetrahedron (3), octahedron (8), dodecahedron (12), and icosahedron (20). In Timeaus, Plato associated each shape with one of the elements, Earth, Fire, Air, Ether, and Water. The Earth's energy grids, from the beginnings of its evolutionary course, have evolved through each of these shapes to what it is today. Each shape, superimposed, one upon the other to create a kind of all encompassing energy field that is the very basis of Earth holding it all together. Volcanic environments are highly energy conductors symbolizing the female power of Earth which gives birth and death to its creatures (see: Laoupi, 2011, the Obsidian Neolithic religion). In addition, some animals like geopathetic stress like the bees, the snakes and the cats. Thus it makes sense why ancient people connect them with the Underworld and otherworld characteristics (see also Laoupi 2017 on the symbolism of bees, snakes and felines).

These highly active geotectonic areas were also connected to sacred places of divination. A famous example is Delphi Oracle (Central Greece). Recent studies have speculated that the prophetic powers of Pythia at the Temple of Apollo were induced by hydrocarbon vapours, specifically ethylene, rising from bedrock fissures at the intersection of the E-W Delphi fault with the NNW-SSE Kerna fault, and producing neurotoxic effects, including trance and delirium. New surveys including gas flux from soil, gas in groundwater, and isotopic analyses of spring scales, provide the experimental confirmation of the gas release in the Delphi area (De Boer et al., 2001; Etiope et al, 2006).

A Delphi magic mist. Image credit: Laslovarga (2009). CC BY-SA 3.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythia

The geothermal waters have medical properties too, as they benefited diseases of the skin and blood, nervous affections, rheumatism and kindred diseases, and the "various diseases of women". Scientists have proven that bathing in the lagoons has positive effects on rheumatics, psoriasis, acne, dermatitis and eczema, Pimples, Blackheads, Whiteheads, Blemishes, Large Pores and Rosacea. Sulphur naturally occurs in volcanoes, surfacing upwards daily from underground steam vents and is also found in hot mineral springs. Natural Volcanic Sulphur is well documented in medicine for its Anti-Bacterial, Anti-Fungal, Anti-Inflammatory and Natural Antiseptic properties make it an excellent active ingredient.

Campi Flegrei. Solfatara Crater, Italy.

Image credit: Donar Reiskoffer, 2003. CC BY-SA 3.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlegraean_Fields

The most crucial parameter, though, are the environmental stimuli that made our remote ancestors to choose repeatedly the volcanic environments, where they survived, lived, reproduced and evolved. The geochemistry of such environments include among other valuable elements, the naturally occurring Halogens (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine). Especially, chlorine, bromine and iodine are strongly enriched in the sea while iodine and to a lesser extent bromine are further concentrated in the marine algae. Minerals, sediments, clays and bedrocks in igneous environments are rich in such elements, and are influenced by proximity to the sea.

Iodine and chlorine are essential elements for mammals and fluorine has been shown to have beneficial effects on bone and tooth formation. However, excess quantities of dietary fluorine can be harmful. It is possible, in view of its ubiquitous occurrence in the biosphere, that bromine has a hitherto unknown function in human and animal health (Fuge, 1988). Furthermore, apart from the degassing of bromine and iodine from volcanoes, volcanic landscapes contain a lot of other rare elements (lithium, rubidium, arsenic, boron, strontium, antimony, germanium, etc), iron, copper, zinc, and selenium, being the other brain selective minerals.

But no other species, including primates, exhibits symptoms of iodine deficiency. The inability of humans to conserve iodine seems to reflect hominidsâ&#x20AC;&#x; way of life on highly active tectonic areas and shorelines, with a diet rich in iodine absorption (Brown-Grant, 1961; Venturi et al, 2000). In 2008, this ancestral antioxidant action of iodides has been experimentally confirmed by Kupper et al.

Since 700 million years ago thyroxine is present in fibrous exoskeletal scleroproteins of the lowest invertebrates (Porifera and Anthozoa), without showing any hormonal action. When some primitive marine chordates started to emerge from the iodine-rich

sea and transferred to iodine-deficient fresh water and finally land, their diet became iodine deficient.

Therefore, during progressive slow adaptation to terrestrial life, the primitive vertebrates learned to use the primitive thyroxine in order to transport antioxidant iodide into the cells, for a better adaptation of the organisms to terrestrial environment (fresh water, atmosphere, gravity, temperature and diet). Recent research has proven that, "Iodides have many non-endocrine biologic effects, including a role they play in the physiology of the inflammatory response. They improve the phagocytosis of bacteria by granulocytes and the ability of granulocytes to kill bacteria. They concentrate around tumors and granulomas in man and animals. They also move into areas of tissue injuryâ&#x20AC;? (Dobson, 1998; Stone, 1988).

The circumstances of human brain evolution are of central importance to accounting for human origins, too, yet still poorly understood, and they can be focused to three main points: (1) The human brain cannot develop normally without a reliable supply of several nutrients, notably docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), iodine and iron, (2) The human foetus has about 13 % of body weight as fat, a key form of energy insurance supporting brain development that is not found in other primates (survival of the fattest babies was the key to human brain evolution), and (3) The genome of humans and chimpanzees is <1 % different, fact that shows differentiation in habitats, during the last 5-6 million years of hominid evolution. Shellfish, fish and shore-based animals and plants are the richest dietary sources of the key nutrients needed by the brain. The consumption of most shore-based foods requires no specialized skills or tools, whether on the shores of lakes, marshes, rivers or the sea.

So, the presence of body fat in human babies appears to be the product of a long period of sedentary, shore-based existence by the line of hominids destined to become humans (Broadhurst et al, 2002 & 1998; Cunnane & Crawford, 2003; Cunnane, 2005 & 2006; Cunnane & Stewart, 2010). Consequently, some of the most numerous and extensive finds of fossil and archaeological material relating to the earliest phases of human evolution (eg Rift Valley, Jordan Rift, S. Caucasus, Sangiran Dome in Indonesia) are no coincidence, indicating a relationship between distinctive, topographically complex volcanic landscapes (fault-bounded basins, uplifted terrain, ubiquitous volcanoes, lava fields) and water bodies, that deserves closer investigation.

Hominines' dispersal followed also the same patterns (King& Bailey, 2006).

General indication of hominin sites in the African Rift and areas of volcanic activity.

After King & Bailey, 2006:267.

The same patterns seemed to exist during later times. Springfed water sources provided potable water, adequate iodine and other micronutrients as cobaltium and selenium, along with bedrocks & sediments containing iodine. The ideal spots to find big game in Pleistocene were soils underlain or surrounded by volcanic sediments (Haynes, 2002).

Environmental stress factors and Neanderthal DNA The disappearance of Neanderthals is one of the most intriguing, controversial and complicated issues in Palaeolithic Archaeology, as well as in Palaeoanthropology, worldwide, having given birth to a plethora of hypotheses, ranging from the inability of Neanderthals to cope with climate change, competitive exclusion or even genocide by anatomically modern humans, to hybridization with the Cro-Magnon populations (Laoupi, 2016). Generally speaking, Neanderthals (Homo Neanderthalensis) coexisted with anatomically modern humans for several thousand years before their â&#x20AC;&#x17E;disappearanceâ&#x20AC;&#x;. Biological, anatomical, pathological, climatic, environmental and social factors seem to have been interdependently contributed to this phenomenon.

Nevertheless, the topic per se is beyond the scope of this paper.

In reality, even though Neanderthals are extinct, they are not disappeared from the face of Earth, because their genetic imprint lives within modern humans by interbreeding (Hybridization Hypothesis). The point of divergence between Neanderthals and modern humans is detected ca at 706 Ka, as a difference in 27 nucleotides; the first proto -Neanderthal traits in Europe had been appeared around 500-350 Ka, the complete ones ca 130 Ka; they seemed to disappear from Asia around 50 Ka and from Europe ca 25 Ka. The most recent archaeological evidence dates back to ca 28 Ka and it is found at Vindija Cave - Croatia (1998), while the latest skeletal remains with Neanderthal traits come from Lagar Velho in Southern Iberia, dated back to 24.5 Ka, and from the cave of Pestera Muierii, Romania (Frayer, 1992; Duarte, et al., 1999; Soficaru, et al., 2006; Trinkhaus, 2007; Jones, 2007; Stringer, 2012).

Recent genetic studies on Neanderthal genome composed of over 3 billion nucleotides from three individuals, conducted by an international team of researchers, indicate some form of hybridization between archaic humans and modern humans that had taken place after modern humans emerged from Africa. The Neanderthals contributed up to 4% of modern Eurasian genomes, while the Denisovans (Reed, et al., 2004; Krause, et al., 2010; Reich, et al., 2010) contributed roughly 4-6% of modern Melanesian genomes. The interbreeding must have occurred early in the migration of modern humans out of Africa, perhaps in the Middle East, around 65 to 90 Ka (Dalen, et al., 2012). No evidence for gene flow in the direction from modern humans to Neanderthals was found. These results, though, donâ&#x20AC;&#x;t rule out an alternative scenario, according to which, the source population of non-African modern humans was already more closely related to Neanderthals than other Africans were, due to ancient genetic divisions within Africa (Green, et al., 2010; Noonan, 2010). In addition, researchers at Oxford University and Plymouth University found evidence of Neanderthal and Denisovan viruses in the modern human DNA; probably those viruses originated in our common ancestors more than 0.5 Ma (Agoni, et al., 2012; Marchi, et al., 2013).

Replica of a Denisovan molar, originally found in Denisova Cave in 2000, at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels, Belgium. Image credit: Thilo Parg (2015), CC BY-SA 3.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denisovan

More specifically, the research has revealed many intriguing secrets: ▪ Hemochromatosis (HFE) has the highest prevalence in Caucasian groups.

Neanderthals would have had great advantage for efficient absorption of iron, due to their frequent injuries during close-combat hunting, as the cure of hemochromatosis is to loose blood (Tomatsu, et al., 2003; Hollerer et al., 2017). Furthermore, hemochromatosis is now associated with the HLA (human leukocyte antigen) gene locus and identified it as an autosomal recessive disease that mainly affects men (Simon et al., 1975).

▪ Comparing the HLA (human leukocyte antigen) genes of modern human populations with those from Denisovans and Neanderthals, the scientists identified a handful that could be traced back to ancient sexual encounters between the groups.

One variant of HLA gene, most common in West Asian populations, the region where the mating probably happened , known as HLA-B*73, likely arose in modern humans after cross-breeding with Denisovans. The Neanderthals contributed, also, a string of HLA gene variants, or alleles, to the modern Eurasian population's gene pool. But, this intake lead also to auto-immune diseases among modern humans, e.g. a gene variant called HLA-B51, which came from cross-breeding with Neanderthals and has already been linked to Behcet's disease, a rare and chronic inflammatory condition, known also as Silk Road Disease, due to its prevalence in the areas surrounding the old silk trading routes in the Middle East and in central Asia (Simoons, 1981).

▪ Psoriasis has 1 - 2 % prevalence in European descent, and much less in other ethnical groups and it is an auto-immune disease. It's, also, believed to be located on chromosome 6 in the HLA region. Some of the HLA genes passed into the human genome from Neanderthal and Denisovan gene pools, might lead to boosted immunity and, in parallel, to autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, rheumatism and eczema (Abi-Rached, 2011; Gibbons, 2011; Hüffmeier et al., 2010).

▪ Moreover, Factor V Leiden was introduced in the Northern European population 35 to 40 Ka. After trauma, the formation of a thrombus is essential to stem bleeding, but any too little clotting results in bleeding disorders such as hemophilia, could be deadly as well as excessive clotting that produces blood clots blocking the

lungs. The most common inherited mutation that predisposes to thrombosis is the factor V Leiden mutation, a common mutation, with a prevalence of 2% in Caucasian populations (Bauduer and Lacombe, 2005).

▪ Finally, Freidreich Ataxia (FA) developed on a common haplotype only found in Europe, North Africa and Middle East. It has been dated to 10 to 25 Ka. FA, like hemochromatosis, is associated with iron transport. The primary cause of FA seems to be oxidative damage by free radicals. Either, there was a protective allele in Neanderthals against free radicals, or some mutation in the mitochondria protected them. In the first case, this allele might still be in the modern human gene pool, in the second, it was lost in the hybridization process (Colombo and Carobene, 2004).

▪ In fact, extensive research during the two last decades has confirmed an Ayuverdic truth dated back to 3,000 BCE. Chronic oxidative stress leads to chronic inflammation (due to microbial and viral infections, exposure to allergens, radiation and toxic chemicals, autoimmune and chronic diseases, obesity, consumption of alcohol, tobacco use, and a high-calorie diet), a triggering mechanism for diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular, pulmonary and neurological diseases (Reuter et al., 2010).

On the other hand, the natural glucocorticoids (steroid hormones with powerful anti-inflammatory effects produced by the human body in the cortex of the adrenal gland) are involved in glucose (sugar) metabolism - especially during times when no food is being taken into the body - by: (1) stimulating glucose production in cells, particularly in the liver, (2) stimulating fat breakdown in adipose (fat) tissue and (3) inhibiting glucose and fat storage in cells. They have both metabolic and antiinflammatory effects. And, there is a strong relationship between HD and inflammation processes. Research has shown that glucocorticoids could play essential roles in delaying or inhibiting the progression of diseases such as HD (Huntington's disease), SBMA (Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy expressed in males), and possibly other polyglutamine diseases as well.

Genetic studies performed in multiple modern human populations identified, also disease risk alleles that are common in one population but rare in others. For example, a gene variant that seems to increase the risk of diabetes in Latin Americans and East Asians appears to have been inherited from Neanderthals.

In parallel, the SLC16A11 sequence is found in a newly sequenced Neanderthal genome from Denisova Cave in Siberia (The SIGMA Type 2 Diabetes Consortium, 2013). Moreover, genes involved in lipid catabolism detected in remains from Neanderthal sites, is three times more frequent in contemporary Europeans than Asian and African populations (Khrameeva, et al., 2014). In addition, another recent study has shown that a hypoxia pathway gene, EPAS1 (which regulates the body‟s production of haemoglobin), was previously identified as having the most extreme signature of positive selection in Tibetans, and at very low frequency among Han Chinese, explained by introgression of DNA from Denisovan or Denisovan-related individuals into modern humans (Huerta-Sánchez, et al., 2014).

▪ Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive metabolic genetic disorder that can cause problems with brain development, leading to progressive mental retardation, brain damage, and seizures. Today, it‟s treated with a low-phenylalanine diet, but alone may not be enough to prevent the negative effects of phenylalanine levels; however there is currently no cure for this disease. It is heterogeneous; more than 300 different mutations in the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene have been identified. The heterozygote advantage seems to function as following. The mild, wet climate of Eucratic Zone tends to encourage the growth of molds. In areas suffered repeatedly by famines, economic hardship and periods of poor nutrition over many

centuries, food, prepared from mouldy grain, which would otherwise be avoided, tends to be eaten; such food is likely to contain the fungal toxin ochratoxin A, which causes pregnant women to miscarriage. But, if they are heterozygous for PKU, the higher concentration of phenylalanine in her blood would tend to protect the foetus (Woolf, et al., 1975; Woolf, 1996). Noteworthy that PAH is closely related to two other homologous enzymes (tryptophan hydroxylase, which controls levels of serotonin in the brain and the gastrointestinal tract, and tyrosine hydroxylase, which controls levels of dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine in the brain and the adrenal medulla). Recent research suggests that PKU may resemble amyloid diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, due to the formation of toxic amyloid- like assemblies of phenylalanine (Adler-Abramovich et al., 2012).

▪ Huntington's Disease (HD), which causes progressive damage to the nervous system (uncontrollable movements, dementia, and psychiatric disturbances), is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder of Western European origin. Having a prevalence of 15 per 100,000 in some Western European populations, it is rare in Asians and Africans. All humans have two copies of the Huntingtin gene (HTT), which codes for the protein Huntingtin (Htt). The mutation is genetically dominant and almost fully penetrant, meaning that mutation of either of a person's HTT genes causes the disease.

Pathologic CAG repeat segment can expand in successive generations leading to increasing disease severity and/or decreasing age of onset.

Image credit: Genetics 4 Medics. http://genetics4medics.com/huntington-disease.html

HD allele seems to protect against cancer (Sørensen, et al., 1999) and infectious disease (very much needed, because Neanderthals also carried Cystic Fibrosis‟ alleles). It might even play a key role in their abilities to hibernate. EPA and DHA protect brain areas affected by HD in hibernating mammals, and play a role in relieving ADHD symptoms. In detail, the omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are conditionally essential antiflammatory nutrients that enhance quality of life, lower the risk of premature death, and generate neuroprotective metabolites by functioning exclusively via cell membranes, in which they are anchored by phospholipid molecules. DHA is proven essential to pre- and postnatal brain development, whereas EPA seems more influential on behaviour and mood (Kidd, 2007).

▪ Cystic fibrosis (CFTR) is a very diverse genetic disease, estimated to have been introduced 50 Ka in Europe, bearing, also, many similar properties to Coeliac, and might in fact be related to gluten- intolerance. The purpose of CF probably was to protect against infection and parasites (e.g. against cholera or typhoid fever). CF is

associated with high levels of salt in sweat, and this probably formed some sort of protection, if left on the skin. This genetic mutation of cystic fibrosis in humans seems to offer a selective advantage against Vibrio cholerae infections, being a similar mechanism to heterozygous carriers of Thalassaemia against malaria (Bertrandpetit and Calafell, 1996). Recently, researchers have plugged data from historical death rates for cholera, typhoid and tuberculosis (TB) into a complex demographic model (Poolman and Galvani, 2007).

▪ Studies confirms a link between low IgA levels, otitis media and autoimmune diseases, like Coeliac Disease (CD), also known as gluten intolerance (Simoons, 1981). Many autistics have lower than normal IgA levels. The disease mostly affects people of European descent, and occurs more rarely in African and Asian populations. Neanderthals lacked nearly the entire gene variants linked to Coeliac disease, suggesting that the disease developed more recently as humans evolved genetic resistance to epidemic diseases.

▪ According to the latest research findings, the modern human genome, compared with the Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes (reflecting low starch diets), on average possesses three times more copies of the gene for salivary amylase (AMY1 = an enzyme in saliva that helps break down starch). It seems that these modern human gene duplications occurred in the last 600 Ka, after the split between Neanderthals and Denis vans. AMY is a salivary endo-enzyme responsible for hydrolysis of α-1,4 glycosidic linkages in starch to produce maltose, maltriose, and other oligosaccharides, and it is the most abundant protein in human saliva but is also highly variable. Something like 70% of the calories in human agricultural population have been taken from the consumption of starch. Scientists hypothesized that dietary preference for high starch foods prevailed since individuals with more copies of AMY1 may be protected against death from diarrheal and intestinal disease (Perry, et al., 2007; Mandel, et al., 2010; Xu and Sin, 2012; Perry, et al., 2015).

▪ Studies have shown that human blood group O, and negative Rhesus factor, may have been the majority among Neanderthals. In fact, at least two of the extinct, ancient humans had type O blood, making them the „universal donors‟. Modern research indicates that this mutation took place about 1 Ma, probably in the hominid common ancestor of humans and Neanderthals, as Natural Selection may sometimes favour a specific blood type. Type O seems to protect against severe malaria, tuberculosis, or syphilis, for example, but makes people more susceptible to bacteria that cause severe cholera and stomach ulcers, to Hypothyroidism and higher risk of venous thromboembolism, as well as to lower egg count and poorer egg quality in women affecting the chances of conceiving, and to male infertility rates and blood group O (Mourant, et al., 1978; Borιn, et al., 1993; Swerdlow, et al., 1994; Fry, et al., 2007; Lalueza-Fox et al., 2008; Khan, et al., 2010; The 66th American Society for Reproductive Medicine – ASRM Annual Meeting 2010: study from Yale University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine).

▪ Very few extinction (or near-extinction) events seem to have only one cause.

A bacterial pandemic triggered by the weakening of immune systems due to other factors, such as starvation or airborne/waterborne pollution following the colossal Toba eruption, is, also, a very logical mechanism proposed by researchers for the Neanderthals‟ extinction. New genetic evidence suggests that those bacteria (e.g.

Group B Streptococcus and Escherichia coli K1) were exploiting two immune system human genes, called Siglec-13 and Siglec-17, which are by then inactivated. This process was long, dating between 440 and 270 Ka. But some people may have had

working versions of Siglec-13 as recently as 46 Ka. During that period, our ancestors were decimated by disease (Wang, et al., 2012).

▪ Over 50% of people with schizophrenia are rhesus negative, and there are indications of similar frequencies in Autism and Asperger (Hollister, et al., 1996).

One other major hypothesis seems, also, to be confirmed. The evolutionary origin of Bipolar Disorder (EOBD) shows the involvement of the circadian gene network in the pathophysiology of it; it is correlated with a cold-adapted build, and its moods vary according to light and season. Considering that selective pressures during the Pleistocene would have been greatest for women of reproductive age, they are expected to manifest winter depression more than males or younger females, which is the case. Thus, Neanderthals are considered as the ancestral source for bipolar vulnerability genes (susceptibility alleles). Researchers go beyond seasonal affective disorder, too, suggesting a probable annual hibernation period for Neanderthals who lived in the extreme cold conditions of higher latitudes (Kretchmer, 1970; Rosenthal et al., 1984 & 1987; Wehr and Rosenthal, 1989; Ciarleglio, et al., 2011; Sherman, 2012).

▪ Researchers looked also for relatively new mutations that might counteract a tendency towards dementia. They found it first in the gene CD33, which encodes a receptor that keeps inflammation and the immune response in line. The “C” allele is associated with late-onset dementia but the “A” allele protects cognition by enabling microglia (a type of brain cell) to sop up excess amyloid beta, one of the sticky proteins that accumulates in Alzheimer‟s. Chimps, bonobos, gorillas, Neanderthals, and Denisovans all have the “C” allele, with some lucky modern humans the only primates examined to have the protective “A” allele. The A variant is thought to have emerged about 550,000 to 765,000 years ago.

In addition, researchers identified 10 other genes that have variants protecting against the vascular form of dementia (APOE, AGT, SCG2, CAPN10, TCF7L2, EBF1, COX-2, CYP3A5, PPARG, and PON1). Instead of drowning brain cells in amylo id beta and tau proteins, vascular dementia blocks blood flow. These 10 genes protect against hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. These “derived protective alleles” are found in all modern African populations, indicating that they‟re at least 100,000 years old (Schwarz et al., 2016).

▪ Recently, researchers have also identified the ARHGAP11B gene as a homininspecific gene (found in Neanderthals, Denisovans and modern humans), that drives the proliferation of neural progenitor cells that build the brain‟s neocortex. Sensory perception, motor commands, conscious thought, and language are involved in this brain area (Florio, et al., 2015).

▪ On the contrary, the dopamine receptor subtype DRD4 7R gene is associated with risk-taking, sensation-seeking, spatial orienting of attention and novelty-seeking, and is correlated with openness to new experiences, intolerance to monotony, and exploratory behaviour (temperament dimension of novelty seeking - NS). According to the human genome, the DRD4 7R gene suddenly showed up about 37 Ka, spread due to natural selection and is unlikely to be of modern human origin. In modern populations, 10% have the activated DRD4 7R gene, 20% are just carriers and ca 70% don't have it at all (Swanson, et al., 2000; Ding, et al., 2002; Wang, et al., 2004; Lundwall, et al., 2012). This gene increases also peripheral vision.

▪ Moreover, in overall size, the posterior portion of the Neanderthal brain, for example the occipital and superior parietal lobes, were slightly larger in length and breadth, than the modern human brain on average. Scientists consider this as a reflection of the environment in which they dwelled, and the neural capacities their

life style required. Even more, Neanderthals‟ temporal lobe was well developed, bigger and little different from that of modern humans, as physical indices along with examination of their skulls and endocasts have shown. The limbic system (amygdale, hippocampus, temporal lobe) controls sexual stimulation, memories (of body and mind), feelings of love and affection, and the ability to form long-term attachments, as well as dream sleep (visual, emotional, and hallucinatory aspects), violence, murder, religious and spiritual experiences. Archaeological evidence supports the anthropological framework. Anthropological evidence has demonstrated that the frontal lobes significantly expanded in length and height during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition, an estimated increase in size by almost a third in the transition from archaic humans to Cro-Magnon. Generally speaking, frontal lobes are considered as the senior executive of the brain, responsible for initiative, goal formation, long term planning, the generation of multiple alternatives, the consideration of multiple consequences, and free will; they coordinate and regulate intellectual, creative, artistic, symbolic, and cognitive processes (Joseph, 2011).

▪ In addition, the latest research conducted claims that the absolute and proportional frontal region size, which increased rapidly in humans, was tightly correlated with corresponding size increases in other areas and whole brain size, and with decreases in frontal neuron densities. Thus, the search for the neural basis of human cognitive uniqueness should focus more on distributed neural networks, than on the frontal lobes in isolation (Barton and Venditti, 2013). Nevertheless, evidence shows that Homo symbolicus included both Neanderthals and Sapiens (for a short integrated perspective of human emotions see Tarlow, 2000; Henshilwood and d‟ Errico, 2011; Panksepp and Biven, 2012). Even more, a zigzag engraving on a shell from a freshwater mussel species - found in Trinil, Java (Indonesia) in the 1890s by the Dutch palaeontologist Eugène Dubois, is the oldest abstract marking ever found, dated to 500 Ka, and its likely creator seems to be the common human ancestor Homo erectus (Joordans, et al., 2015). The shell is included in the Dubois collection (Naturalis Museum, Leiden, The Netherlands). The astonishing finds and constructions at Bruniquel Cave (southwestern France) dated to ca 176.5 Ka (±2.1 Ka) proved that Neanderthals mastered the underground environment in a unique and “modern” way in 336 m distance from the entrance (Jaubert et al., 2016).

Bruniquel cave. Image credit: Michel Soulier – SSAC / Nature Jaubert et al

▪ Ancient origins more than 100 Ka of a set of Y-chromosome mutations not found in Africa is indicative of Neanderthal and / or Asian Homo erectus contribution to our genome (Underhill, et al., 1997).

Neanderthals were distinguished at least in four subgroups, not being a homogenous group. Paleoanthropological studies based on morphological skeletal evidence have offered some support for the existence of four different sub-groups, one in Western Europe, one in Southern Europe, one in the Levant, and another in Western Asia (Fabre, et al., 2009). Although many scientists question the interbreeding theory (Ander and Manica, 2012), genetic research has shown two periods of interbreeding between modern humans and Neanderthals; one period of interbreeding occurring around 60 Ka in the Eastern Mediterranean, the other around 45 Ka in Eastern Asia (Krause, et al., 2010). The most recent and detailed genetic analysis of the existing data indicates that the divergence between modern humans and Neanderthals took place between 270 and 440 Ka, a common ancestor of which had lived within the last 500 to 800 Ka (Green et al., 2008).

Furthermore, their later interbreeding is reflected on the genome differences, in the degree to which, different geographically dispersed present-day population groups show Neanderthal ancestry. According to a first approach by the scientists involved in „1000 Genomes Project‟, more Neanderthal indicators have been found in Northern China population in relation to the Southern China, and in the Southern populations of Europe more than the northern, with the Tuscans having the highest level of Neanderthal similarity (The 1000 Genomes Project Consortium, 2010; The Malapa Soft Tissue Project, by John Hawks, online at: http://johnhawks.net/malapa).

Research on singularities in the Neanderthal genome has also shown 78 genes that have been located with changes, but because of the low genome coverage, there could be up to three times more. Some genes on the list are easy to interpret, for example, the changes in five olfactory receptors, which are probably inactivated nowadays because they are no longer important to our survival (Green, et al., 2010).

Few different genes between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens sapiens are: RPTN (gene that encodes repetin, an extracellular epidermal matrix protein, involved in the sweat glands, the root hairs and tongue papillae), SPAG17 (important antigen for the structural integrity of the central apparatus of the sperm axoneme, it participates in male fertility), TTF1 (regulates ribosomal gene transcription), DCHS-1 (encodes for a protein involved in wound healing), CAN15 (encodes a protein of unknown function) and PCD16 (fibroblast cadherin, encodes a cell-cell adhesion protein, possibly involved in wound healing).

Evidence provided by a jawbone found in 2002 inside the cave system of Peștera cu Oase in Southwestern Romania revealed that the Neanderthal signature of Oase individual's genome ranges between 6% and 9%, making it an unprecedented amount because present-day Neanderthal derived European genome ranges between 2% and 4%. That ancient man seemed to have a Neanderthal ancestor just four to six generations back, but he was also more closely related to modern East Asians and Native Americans than to today's Europeans (Fu, et al., 2015).

▪ Finally, skin colour, hair colour, freckles and eye colour are related to three mutations in the melanocortin-1 receptor found on chromosome 16 - MC1R (R151C, R160W and D294H), the origin of which have been traced back to 50 to 100 Ka, as a result of hybridization with Neanderthals. Recent research has demonstrated that people with red hair have different sensitivity to pain compared to people with other hair colours, and naturally occurring low vitamin K levels (Mogil, et al., 2005; Liem, et al., 2005; Lalueza-Fox, et al., 2007). In parallel, researchers found that Neanderthal genome affects keratinocytes that protect the skin from environmental damage such as ultraviolet radiation and pathogens. Those variants influence skin biology in modern humans too, in particular, the risk of developing sun-induced skin lesions called

keratosis, which are caused by abnormal keratinocytes (Simonti et al., 2016; see also: https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2016/02/13/genomic-expression-carried-overfrom-neanderthal-dna/; http://www.eva.mpg.de/neandertal/index.html).

Humans in caves: Health advantages Rock shelters and caves, apart from their ecological and environmental value, have played a prominent role in the study of man‟s adventure on Earth. From Palaeolithic Times onward, humans used, worldwide, these geological formations for a variety of reasons, as residence, animal pen / shelter, work / production place, water source, storage place, mine / quarry, dump, burial place, sacred place, ceremonial place, tourist site, place of execution / disposal of bodies, refuge for danger, refuge for outlaw / resistance fighters, refuge for cast out / victims of epidemics and as scientific destination.

Nowadays, cave formations are acknowledged as vivid parts of the worldwide heritage. As cultural heritage can be assigned any kind of evidence related to human action, any „product‟ of human creativeness and expression, widely accepted for its scientific, historic, artistic and anthropological value. On the other hand, natural landscapes are also included in the lists of patrimony objects that must be protected.

Equally important is the scientific role of the caves, because they function as „archives‟ of past environmental changes, providing Disaster Archaeology with valuable data / information in order to detect hazardous phenomena, climatic oscillations and other natural perturbations that took place thousand, even millions of years ago.

Especially the finger fluting (term coined by Robert Bednarik in 1986), a form of prehistoric rock art in caves from Australia and New Guinea to Europe, are generally made in a substance called moonmilk, through a thin clay film into moonmilk underneath or perhaps just into clay (Breuil, 1952; Sharpe & Van Gelder, 2006 and 2006b).

Flutings at the start of the 150 sq m Desbordes Panel, Chamber A1, Rouffignac Cave, France. Image credit: Sharpe & Van Gelder, own work, 2007. CC BY 2.5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger_fluting#/media/File:RouffignacFlutings.jpg

When microbes and mud in caves are combined, they form the moonmilk (very fine white material; not a mineral but a speleothem; it is usually composed of carbonate minerals but may also be composed of sulphates – e.g. gypsum phosphates, silicates and other minerals). More precisely, the historical term Mondmilch (calcite moonmilk) is related to the proper type locality, the cave Mondmilchloch from South-Pilatus near Lucerne (Switzerland). Fischer (1988) defines Mondmilch sensu stricto (>90% CaCO3) in order to distinguish mondmilchlike carbonate speleothems (= moonmilk, <90% CaCO3) and other subterranean deposits, e.g. sulphates, phosphates and silicates from pure calcite Mondmilch (see also: Moore & Sullivan, 1997).

European peasants used moonmilk for centuries to heal infected cuts in livestock, because due to its probiotic, anti-inflammatory and antibiotic properties, it kill infections and speed healing at supernatural rates. Much of the calcite moonmilk sampled by investigators contains actinomycetes, which are the main producers of antibiotics. Actinomycetes are gram-positive organisms, mostly aerobic, a subdivision of Procaryotae Kingdom. Since they had been firstly regarded as fungi, they received their name from the two Greek words: actino- (ray) and mycete (mushroom). They occur in soil, being especially important in the production of humus, giving to it its characteristic “earthy” aroma; they produce streptomycin. In 1940‟s, Selman A. Waksman (Nobel prize laureate 1952 - California University), along with his students, isolated more than fifteen antibiotics, one of which was Tuberculosis antibiotic streptomycin, the first effective treatment for this deadly disease aka the White Plague (Waksman, 1952 & 1954). In 2009, in USA, they have been produced about 166 antibiotics and derivatives based on actinomycetes‟ action (Mahajan & Balachandran, 2012).

Images of Actinomycetes (soil bacteria) colonies isolated on media, as viewed under a microscope. Image credit: https://fhs.mcmaster.ca/main/news/news_2013/antibiotic_drug_discover_method/index.html

Moonmilk has been used also as a wound dressing and cavers with colds report cold symptoms disappearing underground (see the online article of The Siberian Times, May 6 -2016: Lake Baikal ‘holds key to new advances in antibiotics’ < http://siberiantimes.com/home/we-say/lake-baikal-holds-key-to-new-advances- inantibiotics/?comm_order=best>).

Moreover, specific caves produce specific forms of it, e.g. Calcite moonmilk can contain such bacteria as Macromonas bipunctata, along with cyanobacteria, fungi, and green algae, all assisting in breaking down minerals in the wall rock and adding them to the moonmilk (Roth, 2005). Ancient medical texts reported that moonmilk had therapeutical properties, thereby suggesting that it might be a source of natural products useful in human treatment (Hill & Forti, 1997; Northup & Lavoie, 2001; Frontiers of Karst Research: Proceedings and recommendations, 2007; Maciejewska et al., 2016).

On the other hand, cave dwellers (in karstic environments, igneous rocks, salt formations, crystal formations, etc) seem to have three advantages experiencing comfort due to stable ambient diurnal temperature, stable light-dark cycle affecting a normal hormonal biorhythm and relative humidity in contrast to the seasonal outdoors, especially during climatic phases when temperature extremes were the norma (see a general but usefully navigating webpage for the climate effects on human health as monitored and based on modern data: <http://www.ciesin.org/docs/001-338/001-338.html>). The earth that surrounds a cave insulates and retains the heat. Thus, the benefits of this stable atmosphere refer to the physiological functions of temperature regulation and metabolism. Huo Yan (Huo Yan, 1986; Golany, 1992: 125) summarizes the health benefits of cave dwellers, e.g. reduction of upper respiratory infection incidents and rheumatism. From Homo erectus pekinensis and Neanderthals to Homo sapiens sapiens, our prehistoric ancestors, all, benefited from cave environments, as archaeological research has proven worldwide.

Furthermore, when one lives in a cave, he/she feels like being in a womb, very safe, comforted and protected. He/she feels connected to the cave and he/she feels it like a living organism. The thick rock ceiling casts out most of the harmful cosmic radiation. The air in caves is rarely stagnant and the negative ions of the inner atmosphere (usually oxygen atoms that gained an electron) combat the effect of free radicals leaving a relaxing sensation. Like being near the ocean or immediately after a storm, the air charged with negative ions suppresses serotonin within the body, boosting high energy levels and good mood. In addition, it helps with insomnia problems even on manic patients. The mineral- infused air within the cave helps human organism to replace mineral loss which leads to mineral deficiency and eventually to many chronic illnesses. The isolation from outside noise and light soothes the circadian rhythms and equilibrates daily stress in the outside world. Apart from biological benefits, the spiritual/emotional benefits are also very powerful.

To sum up, modern research (e.g. the 1987 study in Biological Psychiatry and the 1993 research of Reilly & Stevenson; Silvestru, 2008) recognizes a plethora of advantages in negative-charged air (in contrast with air-conditioning systems, TV and other today‟s electro-environments): it increases the sense of well-being, focus and mental clarity; it improves the function of cilia in the respiratory tract; it protects the lungs from irritation and inflammation; it normalizes breathing; it relaxes and decreases blood pressure by relieving stress and tension; it relieves from depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder; it increases energy levels by normalizing the neurotransmitter serotonin levels in the brain; it improves mood and sleep; it reduces headaches and decreases instances of sickness; it boosts the immune system.

Even more, caves can – and have – been used for therapeutic reasons (Speleotherapy: a special form of climatotherapy discovered in Poland in 1843).

Caves being ambiguous spaces, offer both protection and shelter, but can also trap and imprison. The cave as a spiritual landscape, acts like„interiority‟. Its direction is

inward, but it is also down and the cave journey involves „getting down‟. The heart, womb, and cauldron are all inward, earthy spaces. As such, they involve directness toward core and away from periphery, toward depth and away from surface, toward concentration and away from dispersion (Laoupi, 2007: Levy, 1963; Eliade, 1964 & 1972; Sjoo & Mor, 1987). Thus, being an oasis of calm and healing, they enhance togetherness and the sense of private space. Although sacredness may have been invested in many other natural forms and objects, during the Prehistoric Times, the earliest known sacred places where shamanic initiations took place are naturallyformed caves.

Moreover, labyrinths appear in various countries throughout the world as a strong symbolic archetype (Laoupi, 2017). This mystical symbol is at once the universe, the individual life, the temple, the town, human existence, the cave / womb or intestines of the Mother Earth as its counter-image, the convolutions of the brain, the consciousness, the heart, the pilgrimage, the journey and the way. In its duality, it is cosmos to those who know the way, and chaos to those who lose it. It is Ariadne's thread, whose windings create the world and yet enable us to unravel it or ravel it...

This symbolic „conjunctio oppositorum‟ is the place where opposites such as life/death, light/dark, male/female, are transformed and melt into each other, in the dance of the spiral (Laoupi, 2007: Matthews, 1985; Freitas, 1987: 413; Gimbutas, 1989; Savard, 2003).

The famous Cretan labyrinth had been a dancing ground made for Ariadne rather than for Minos (Hom. Il. 18.590 - 593). „Homer compares the dance worked

by Hephaistos on the shield of Achilleus to a dance made by Daidalos, because he had never seen more clever workmanship‟ (Paus. Guide of Greece 8.16.3). The paths in the maze are dances that are performed by the participants in the ceremony. These dances prove that though many paths are taken, and some are a dead-end, life continues through. This is the key of the Dionysian rituals, Dionysos being her immortal husband (Laoupi, 2007: Kerenyi, 1996). In the original story, Ariadne was a Goddess, who provided guidance through the mysterious temple maze of ancient Crete, where she presided as priestess. Her famous spiral-like thread helped seekers to find their way safely in and out. The real hero is one who can keep hold of the labyrinth's thread, not fearing it, but following it to find self-actualization, spiritual rebirth and love. Another version of the story of Ariadne makes her a Goddess and lover, but also a destroyer. The labyrinth is her womanly cycle, the cave her womb and Minotaur her heart. Therefore, the traveller of the labyrinth learned lessons of ecstasy, transformation and immortality (Laoupi, 2007: Farrar, 1987; Mountainwater, 1991).

The „craddle‟ of the pristine cosmovision was the cave. A large number of archaeologists and historians of religion claim that Shamanism may have been a dominant religious practice for humanity during the Palaeolithic. In fact, recent archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest known shamans, dating to the Upper Palaeolithic, were women, exhibiting a two-spirit identity. On the other hand, as being the primary teacher of tribal symbolism, the shaman may have a leading role in this ecological management of local societies. He / she actively restrict hunting and fishing, and is able to „release‟ game animals, or their souls, from their hidden abodes (Laoupi, 2016: Kleivan and Sonne, 1985; Merkur, 1985; Reichel-Dolmatoff, 1997; Price, 2001; Vitebsky, 2001; Eliade, 2004; Tedlock, 2005; Harvey & Wallis, 2007; McDonald & Veth, 2012; Pitulko, et al., 2012; Winkelman, 2013).

Chauvet Cave (Ardèche, southern France). Salle du Fond (the last and deepest of the chambers), nearly 7m high. A vertical cone of limestone hangs down ending in a point 1.10m off the floor. The Venus (pubic triangle) and the Sorcerer (man-bison) are drawn in black charcoal.

Evidence suggests that the Venus is Aurignacian created in the first period of the deco ration of the Cave (ca 32 to 30 kya). The „Bull - Vulva‟ motif led Curtis (2006) to interpret this composite drawing as the representation of the „Minotaur‟. See: Laoupi, 2017.

Many „otherworldly‟ clues of Paleolithic rock art have also led archaeologists and anthropologists to believe that the primitive artists were under hallucination / trance status when they created the paintings; a theory reinforced by the presence of two gases, CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) and Rn (Radon), in caves, apart from other hallucinogenic substances (Hopman, 2008;‟ Froese et al., 2013).

In parallel, the evolution of human brain through the lenses of the Palaeolithic Rock Art is a fascinating, intriguing and breath-taking issue that covers a broad range of scientific fields, interdisciplinary research, hot debates and much extended bibliography (e.g. the experiment of London psychiatrist Dominic H. Ffytche starting in 2007; Ramachandran, 2012; Janik, 2013; Chatterjee, 2015; International Network for Neuroaesthetics: <https://neuroaesthetics.net/tag/cave-art/>; Neuroaesthetics. A bibliography: <https://fergus.wordpress.com/2006/09/27/neuroaesthetics-abibliography/>; Art in the Embodied Mind. A Bibliography: <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312320657_Embodied_cognition_and_aes thetic_experience_a_bibliography>; Rock-Art database: <http://www.rockartdatabase.com/v2/>).

The human brain is the most complex organ known in the observable universe.

A very intriguing, hotly debated, though, perspective is, also, the Bicameralism in Psychology, a term coined by the psychologist Julian Jaynes (1976), according to which human brain, at least 3 Ka and beyond, was in a state of cognitive functions being divided between one part of the brain which appears to be „speaking‟, and a second part which listens and obeys. This mind experiences the world similarly to the schizophrenic mentality without making conscious evaluations in novel or unexpected situations. The regions responsible for this mentality (right temporal lobe) are somewhat dormant in the right brains of most modern humans. His interdisciplinary approach uses many trans-cultural examples such as music, poetry and myths in ancient Greece and the Old Testament. On the contrary, the cognitive functions of introspection, self-consciousness and dream analysis is present in the Epic of Gilgamesh and Odyssey. The bicameral minds of ancients were strongly and violently tested by extreme environmental conditions (e.g. earthquakes, plagues, droughts and climatic changes), severe catastrophes and socio-cultural upheaval (e.g. migrations).

Consequently, consciousness (self-awareness, flexibility, creativeness, language as

necessary component of subjective consciousness, etc), like bicamerality, emerged as a neurological adaptation to social complexity in a changing world. Today, the concept of the need for external authority in decision-making (bicameralism) survives in religious prophecies and rituals (as the majority of the world‟s cultures encourage or require members to enter alternative states of consciousness /ASC), hypnosis, possession states and schizophrenia (Laoupi, 2016: Siegel and West, 1975; LewisWilliams, 2002; Shanon, 2002; Huxley, 2004; Lewis-Williams and Pearce, 2005; Hodgson, 2006; Hodgson and Helvenston, 2006; Kuijsten, 2007 & 2012).

The ancient lore, the primitive thought, the pristine knowledge of humankind, especially in times of chaos and change, are the key element of Shamanism in New Age, a „system‟ that comprises a range of beliefs and practices related to the communication with the spiritual world; an inner journey into healing, well being, through spiritual and/or mystical experiences and soul-retrieval practices, that awakes the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual parts of the self to new possibilities, by fulfilling the soul's potential (Laoupi, 2016: Campbell, 1983 & 1976; Nicholl, 1989; Harner, 1990; Moss, 1998; Kehoe, 2000; Winkelman, 2000; Vitebsky, 2001; Ingerman, 2006; Znamenski, 2007; Eliade, et al., 2012).

Worth to mention is also the noise issue; it is widely known and proven scientifically that noise pollution (regular exposion to consistent elevated sound levels) has serious effects on human health, causing tinnitus, hypertension, hormonal imbalance, sleeping problems, vasoconstriction, and other cardiovascular adverse effects, stress, more accidents and dementia. In addition, low-frequency sounds may cause feelings of awe or fear in humans (Staples, 1996; Ising et al., 1999; Gelfand, 2001; Maschke, 2003; <http://web.archive.org/web/20070925221754/http://istsocrates.berkeley.edu/~lohp/graphics/pdf/hw24en08.pdf >). Modern research suggests that ancient hunters painted the sections of their cave dwellings where singing, humming and music sounded best. The most densely painted areas of French caves were those with the better acoustics.

In fact, Neanderthals had an elaborate system of communication which was more musical than modern human language, process derived from the separation of language and music into two separate modes of cognition. In fact, Neanderthals possessed the gene for language - FOXP2 variant came to be found in both Neanderthals and modern humans (Carruthers and Chamberlain, 2000; Coop, et al., 2008; Kull, 2009; Cole, 2014) and had sophisticated music, art and tool craftsmanship skills, so they must have not been all that unattractive to modern humans at the time.

Recent anatomical evidence (D‟ Anastasio, et al., 2013), along with archaeological evidence demonstrates that Neanderthals made musical instruments (Morley, 2003, 2006 & 2013). According to two main hypotheses, a co-evolution of what we today call music and language took place in the past (Steven Brown, 2000). Neanderthals had a peculiar proto-music/language, that was holistic (not composed of segmented elements), manipulative (influencing emotional states and hence behaviour of oneself and others), multimodal (using both sound and movement), musical (temporally controlled, rhythmic, and melodic), and mimetic (utilizing sound symbolism and gesture), including iconic gestures, dance, onomatopoeia, vocal imitation and sound synaesthesia, as well as enhancing „emotional intelligence‟ (Wallin, 1991; Benzon, 2001; Mithen, 2005).

Flûte paléolithique (musée national de Slovénie, Ljubljana) (9420310527).

Image credit: dalbera from Paris, France - Flûte paléolithique (musée national de Slovénie, Ljubljana) - Uploaded by sporti, 2013, CC BY 2.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divje_Babe_Flute

Thus, Palaeolothic people used echolocation (spots of maximum resonance where voice was amplified and clear, plus spots where sounded very similar to the animals painted on the walls nearby) and their ritual artistic systems included both painting and singing (music) like being in „concert halls‟. This concept continued into Bronze Age, as The Vallée des Merveilles (aka Valle delle Meraviglie orValley of Marvels) - part of the Mercantour National Park in Southern France - proves. The area holds the largest quantity of open-air Bronze Age petroglyphs in Europe, after Val Camonica in Italy, and by the lake the echo answers whole melodies and it is a pleasure to sing or play at this place (Lewis-Williams, 2004; Hale, 2007; Reznikoff, 2014). Finally, the rocks in the caves like other landscape and human-made formations have sound healing properties. Never forget, also that all crystals / minerals / rocks / gemstones vibrate in their own individual frequencies, their matrixes following the patterning of Sacred Geometry (<http://www.landscapeperception.com/archaeoacoustics/> and <http://www.landscapeperception.com/links/>; <http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-africaopinion/great-pyramid-giza- monument-creation-part-3-air-element-00565>; <https://www.theguardian.com/culture/shortcuts/2014/mar/05/stonehenge-built-rockmusic-bluestones-acoustic>; <http://www.viewzone.com/archeosoundx.html>; <https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/02/byzantine-angelwings/470076/>; <http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/march-2012/article/ancientbuilders-created- monumental-structures-that-altered-sound-and- mind-sayresearchers>; <http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/tombs/tombacoustics.htm>).

As Laoupi (2017) points out, ancient humans had knowledge and use of unseen powers, forces and energy fields. There is no question, that as it has always existed, the EM Spectrum is a naturally occurring part of our environment, comprised of a continuous sequence of electromagnetic energy arranged according to wavelength or frequency, as generated by particle motion (vibrations) and pulses created from many sources. There is also no doubt that many ancient cultures had a connection with Nature and natural forces that was fundamental and could only be described as intimate and profound in ways we moderns can merely attempt to comprehend.

Electromagnetic radiation has been around since the birth of the universe; light is its

most familiar form. Electric and magnetic fields are part of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, which extends from static electric and magnetic fields, through radio frequency and infrared radiation, to X-rays.

Turning his attention to the ancient temples of Malta, Slovakian researcher Dr. Pavel Smutny explains that complexes were used probably as generators of high frequency acoustic waves. Purposes were (maybe) to arrange a communication channel among various islands. Legends abound around Malta of sirens (acoustically) tempting or deafening seafarers. Illustrations show the similarities of the Hagar Qim Temple compound layout on Malta when compared to a typical 800 MHz wireless antenna pattern. There are an infinite variety of patterns that can be generated by antennas depending on the beam width desired, distance between the antenna poles and the frequency being transmitted. However, nearly all antenna patterns have similar characteristics consisting of main beam lobe and side lobes as well as nulls and back lobe. â&#x20AC;&#x17E;Lobeâ&#x20AC;&#x; was a word Graham Hancock (https://grahamhancock.com/ kreisbergg6/) specifically used to describe the temple structures on Malta, mentioning the unusual acoustics he encountered in the Hypogeum on Malta. Even more, the visual impacts related to Cymatics or energy patterns, may also be observed in the case of Stonehenge monuments resembling the symbol of labyrinth (Kreisberg, 2010; Eneix and Zubrow, 2014). Thus, Sirens could be the symbol of electromagnetic waves of sound that travel as birds in Nature and Labyrinth the symbol of the human brain.

Left: Labyrinth petroglyph from Pedra do Labirinto, Galicia. Dated to ca 2000 BCE (perhaps 750â&#x20AC;&#x201C;500 BCE); Saward, 2003, 38. Right: The human brain. Image synthesis by Amanda Laoupi

Conclusions The influence of environmental chemical elements on the processes of hominization and encephalisation had been started long before historic times. For the past fifteen million years, the East African Rift Valley has been a unique geological environment which contained volcanic activity and many enormous freshwater lakes.

Paleoanthropological evidence clearly indicates that hominids evolved in East Africa, and that early Homo inhabited the Rift Valley lake shores. Although earlier hominid species migrated to Eurasia, modern Homo sapiens is believed to have originated in Africa between and subsequently migrated throughout the world. The nutrient-rich volcanic landscapes had a crucial impact on shift in the hominid resource base; this was accompanied by an increase in relative brain size and a shift towards modern patterns of foetal and infant development.

Just like calcium & oxygen, iodine contained in the Earth's crust and the oceans. Iodine follows a cycle to the sphere surface. The morphological and physiological iodine role in the organisms is significant. Iodine influence on the caudal or cerebral tissues development or regression is well-known. The thyroid hormone acts about on all tissues but with more effectiveness on bone and nervous tissues. Brain development claims higher amounts. So the rich in brain selective minerals, volcanic and shore (near bodies of water) environments were always highly attractive to humans, all over the world, counterbalancing any danger and disaster.

In open land environments, a series of biogenetic parameters played also a crucial role in Neanderthals‟ survival under extremely harsh conditions for thousands of years. Modern researchers have isolated the genes which were expressed as various characteristics that helped humans to survive. Noteworthy that many of those genes have been passed through Homo sapiens genome, some of them being positive to our evolution, some of them causing problems due to different environmental and daily conditions and parallel mutations over the centuries.

On the other hand, the caves hold a prominent position in the mythology, cult and daily life of past human communities. Their deep dual symbolism range from idyllic sceneries and wombs of birth to dens for monsters and chthonic creatures, creating unique cultural landscapes that need protection, management and integration into the heritage‟s agenda of modern societies. Life and death, light and dark, rejection and healing, Eros and Mania, inspiration and terror, are the Ianos‟ face of the archetypal cave. Ceremonies and celebrations took place within them, asking for protection, abundance, wealth, power, divine revelation and prophecies. Their environments provided humans a protecting shield against microbes and infections.

All human senses benefited from cave environments as research has shown.

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