Thepenis rectus as a marker in human palaeontology?

Abstract

Thepenis rectus, i.e. the human penis which maintains an almost horizontal position in its flaccid state, has so far only been observed amongst the Bushmen in southern Africa. There, however, it is already displayed in prehistoric rock art in stark and obviously intended contrast with differently positioned penes of other population groups. A similar juxtaposition can be found in European upper Palaeolithic cave art where certain humanlike figures, with indications of much body hair and with an upturned nose, exhibit what seems to be apenis rectus rather than an ordinary penis in erection. It is argued that these hairy people are most likely Neanderthals portrayed by early modern man (Homo sapiens) with whom they coexisted and who was struck by these anatomical differences. This theory is derived from the expert description and depiction of a recently killed remnant Neanderthal from central Vietnam who indeed shows the same combination of hairiness, an upturned nose and a thin penis with a compact small scrotum which is the mark of thepenis rectus. By comparing this body with representations of “bull-men” by perfectlysapiens Sumerians, it is realized that they, too, are most likely remnant Neanderthals with the same kind of penis. The same situation is again found in classical Greece where the hairy, knobby-nosed Satyr contrasts with the straight-nosed glabroussapiens Greek who mistook the former'spenis rectus for a penis in erection and therefore endowed him with sexual prowess and licentiousness. The conclusion is reached that the Satyrs, like the Mesopotamian “bull-men», must have been a remnant Neanderthal population, that these findings are consistant with not only the examination of a remnant Neanderthal from Southeast Asia, but also with the prehistoric evidence from both Europe and Africa, and that therefore thepenis rectus can be seen as a marker in Human Palaeontology, i.e. that ofHomo neanderthalensis.