Are your neighbors part Neanderthal? Quite possibly.
There are Neanderthal genes in many people of European ancestry, say DNA researchers. A small amount, and yet a mere few genes can wield a big influence.
Neanderthal interest has exploded in recent years, probably because researchers are shining more and more light on their lives.
Several recent books explore these findings, and Moab’s local book club explored one of them a few weeks ago. The book is Kindred, and the title implies far more than simply a genetic link.
We modern humans, ubiquitous and allegedly intelligent, often placed prehistoric humans in the category of grunting cave dwellers too brutish to possess an actual culture. New studies suggest otherwise.
One male skeleton shows he suffered a broken femur and other afflictions, yet survived until age 50 or so. He’d have needed help, which means Neanderthals cared for their infirm.
Other sites reveal they invested time and effort digging graves for their dead. Scientists have also discovered Neanderthal cave art, which shows their ability to think symbolically. These are signs of a culture developing beyond basic hunting and gathering.
There’s also evidence that Neanderthals were more peaceful than we thought. What would it mean to us if we learn they were as culturally evolved as the first homo sapiens (that’s us) they met 40,000 years ago?
Researchers expanded the human family when they discovered another type of extinct human only recently. Known as Denisovans, they were identified in 2010 from Denisova Cave, in Siberia.
An ancient bone from a teenager showed that her mother was a Denisovan and her father a Neanderthal. Denisovan DNA is found today in aboriginal people of Australia and New Guinea.
From all this we learn how we modern humans are not necessarily the apex of evolution, but are part of its entire continuum. We understand better how we are connected, throughout history, to other life. In a larger sense, to all life.
Kindred and other Neanderthal books occupy my shelves, but I missed the book club event. Congratulations to Moab’s book club on the decision to explore this fascinating topic.
Scott Thiele
