The hominins who became Neanderthals ventured out of Africa hundreds of thousands of years before modern humans followed, and settled in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. When Homo sapiens joined them, it's a stretch to think that Neanderthals welcomed them with open arms. Rather than just co-existing, even at arm's length, Nicholas R. Longrich of the University of Bath contends that they were more likely to have been at war for tens of thousands of years. He looks at the general nature of similar species and at the evidence left behind.
Prehistoric warfare leaves tell-tale signs. A club to the head is an efficient way to kill – clubs are fast, powerful, precise weapons – so prehistoric Homo sapiens frequently show trauma to the skull. So too do Neanderthals.
Another sign of warfare is the parry fracture, a break to the lower arm caused by warding off blows. Neanderthals also show a lot of broken arms. At least one Neanderthal, from Shanidar Cave in Iraq, was impaled by a spear to the chest. Trauma was especially common in young Neanderthal males, as were deaths. Some injuries could have been sustained in hunting, but the patterns match those predicted for a people engaged in intertribal warfare – small-scale but intense, prolonged conflict, wars dominated by guerrilla-style raids and ambushes, with rarer battles.
It is apparent that Homo sapiens eventually won the war, although Homo neanderthalis left traces in our DNA. Read the argument for the long-running battle between early humans at The Conversation. -via Damn Interesting
(Image credit: Charles R. Knight)
