In the exhibition doggerland Embark on an unprecedented journey through time spanning a million years. It is a journey for young and old to a vanished prehistoric world in the North Sea: Doggerland. You will learn more about the prehistoric inhabitants of this extraordinary land, and how they survived in an environment and climate that were constantly changing. Climate change, a topical subject, is on display in Leiden until October 31, 2021.

Dry North Sea seabed

The story begins during the Ice Ages, when the bottom of the North Sea was mostly dry. In a vast and fertile landscape lived mammoeten, woolly rhinoceroses, giant deer, Neanderthals and the first modern humans. Eventually, about eight thousand years ago, that prehistoric world was flooded by rising sea levels. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]             [/ One_half_last]  

Two Hundred Doggerland Finds

Year in, year out, collectors, enthusiasts, and researchers scour the North Sea beaches in all weathers. They are searching for traces of Doggerland, the largest archaeological site in Europe. Every day, prehistoric tools made of flint, antler, and bone, as well as fossils, can be found along the surf. You also stand a chance of spotting petrified hyena droppings and mammoth teethDoggerland finds are primarily encountered on beaches that have been replenished with sand from the North Sea seabed, such as De Zandmotor.

 

Animal fossils

You see prehistoric tools made of flint, antler, and bone, including impressive ones. hand axes – the Swiss army knives of the Neanderthals. Also, do not forget to reflect on the fossils of the prehistoric animals that lived there, such as mammoth bones and teeth, but also fossilized hyena droppings. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]    

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Neanderthals and Krijn

In 2001, the shell dredger Eemshoorn brought ashore a cargo of shells in Yerseke that had been fished up off the coast of Zeeland. The shells were destined to be ground into cat litter. Amateur paleontologists knew that fossils and artifacts were sometimes found among the shells. This batch was also examined. A 9,5-centimeter-long bone fragment ended up with researcher Luc Anthonis and curator Mark Bosselaers. Below is the bone photographed in the National Museum of Antiquities, exhibition 'Doggerland'.

Afterwards, the bone fragment was sent to the for analysis. Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.

To be on the safe side, the bone fragment was also analyzed by the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig.

The researchers were able to confirm what was already suspected: the bone fragment was the brow ridge of a young NeanderthalIt is the first find of this hominid in the Netherlands and is about 50.000 years old. In 2009, the find was presented at the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden. He lived in Doggerland. Research into stable isotopes – variations of the nitrogen and carbon atoms – shows that he ate mainly meat. Striking is the small cavity behind his characteristic prominent brow ridge. This turned out to have been caused by a harmless subcutaneous tumor. Something similar had never before been established in Neanderthals. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]           The researchers gave the young Neanderthal the nickname KrijnTo give him a scientifically accurate face, the paleoanthropological artists were hired. Knowledge & Knowledge Reconstructions engaged. For this assignment, they used the researched characteristics of the North Sea fossil, digital matches with similar Neanderthal skulls, and the most current knowledge about Neanderthals and their appearance, such as eye, hair, and skin color. The Kennis brothers have already made many other reconstructions of Neanderthals and other prehistoric humans, including the glacier mummy Ötzi.

In the photo 'skull' (right), it can be seen how the fragment of Krijn fits into the skull of La-Chapelle-aux-Saints 1The find dates from 1908 and was made by A. and J. Bouyssonie and L. Bardon. It is a typical example of the 'classic' Western European Neanderthal. It concerns a somewhat older male, of at least 40 years old, which must have been an advanced age at the time. The skeletal remains are estimated to be about 60.000 years old. How could the artists Kennis know what the teeth looked like? A matching set of teeth was sought from a young Neanderthal from krapina (Croatia).

The exhibition tells the story of nearly a million years of human habitation, landscape and climate change in the vast and rich prehistoric area off the Dutch coast. Krijn and the other finds demonstrate that further research and protection of the North Sea seabed are of great scientific importance to Dutch and international archaeology and paleontology.  

The relationship with COVID-19

People with a specific piece of Neanderthal DNA in their genome have a lower chance of ending up in the ICU if they have COVID-19. This concerns a piece of DNA on chromosome three containing three genes related to immunity against RNA viruses (such as the coronavirus). It reduces the chance of ICU admission by between 22 and 44 percent. Outside Africa, the DNA variant is found in about a third of the population, more frequently in Europe than in East Asia. This is the result of various studies by geneticists Hugo Zeberg and Svante Pääbo. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]           [/ One_half_last]  

<strong> More info: </strong>

Through 31 October 2021 Doggerland, Vanished World in the North Sea: https://www.rmo.nl/tentoonstellingen/tijdelijke-tentoonstellingen/doggerland/ https://www.rmo.nl/nieuws-pers/nieuwsberichten/nederlandse-neanderthaler-krijgt-gezicht/