Neanderthals And Humans Were at War For Over 100,000 Years, Evidence Shows

[Judi Lynn]

NICHOLAS R. LONGRICH, THE CONVERSATION
3 NOVEMBER 2020

Around 600,000 years ago, humanity split in two. One group stayed in Africa, evolving into us. The other struck out overland, into Asia, then Europe, becoming Homo neanderthalensis – the Neanderthals. They weren't our ancestors, but a sister species, evolving in parallel.

Neanderthals fascinate us because of what they tell us about ourselves – who we were, and who we might have become. It's tempting to see them in idyllic terms, living peacefully with nature and each other, like Adam and Eve in the Garden.

If so, maybe humanity's ills – especially our territoriality, violence, wars – aren't innate, but modern inventions.

Biology and palaeontology paint a darker picture. Far from peaceful, Neanderthals were likely skilled fighters and dangerous warriors, rivalled only by modern humans.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/how-neanderthals-and-humans-battled-for-supremacy-for-over-100-000-years

[DFW]

1. A whole race was named after a valley of a small stream a 20 minute drive south of where I live

About 160 years ago, a cave in the valley of a stream near me was discovered with artifacts of a race of hominids previously never understood or acknowledged. The stream is called the Neander. In the stream's valley is a small community with their own radio station and train station:


Now, there is also a museum there with artifacts, a long detailed history and a very special receptionist:


I had the pleasure of taking DUers California Peggy and Lionel Mandrake down there when they visited us here in Düsseldorf.