Neanderthals are often described as violent "club-wielders". But a new book dispels that stereotype, arguing that Neanderthals were sensitive individuals with a "deep-seated sense of compassion."
These findings, also published in Time & Mind, are part of a broader study of the development of empathy and other related feelings in early humans.
Scientists Penny Spikins (Penny Spikins), Andy Needham (Andy Needham) and Holly Rutherford (Holly Rutherford) of the Faculty of Archeology at York University (University of York) examined archaeological evidence, like primitive people began to appear the emotions that happened six million years ago, as well as their further development.
Based on the study of fossils, artifacts and other evidence, scientists have proposed 4 stages of the model for the development of human compassion.
The first stage began 6 million years ago, when sympathy began to awaken in the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees and motives for helping others appeared - primitive people began to care about the comfort of their fellow tribesmen.
In the second phase - about 1.8 million years ago - human compassion began to be regulated as an emotion associated with rational thinking. Representatives of humanity began to care for the sick, there was an awareness of the fact of death as the loss of a loved one and a desire to reassure others.
The third stage, which is based on the study of data on the inhabitants of Europe, began about 400-500 thousand years ago. Homo heidelbergensis and Neanderthals have developed a sense of responsibility for the welfare of others, as seen in the tradition of hunting together, for example. There is also archaeological evidence of daily care for the wounded and infirm (these include the remains of a child with a congenital brain anomaly, who was not abandoned and lived to be 5-6 years old). The researchers also note that archaeologists have discovered a blind in one eye, a gaunt-haired Neanderthal with deformed legs, who had to be cared for for 20 years.
The fourth stage includes modern people, starting from 120 thousand years ago. They have an increased compassion for strangers, animals, and objects.
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Speakins, who led the study, argues that new technologies such as neuroimaging have allowed archaeologists to unravel the feelings and emotions of primitive humans. She added that this study is only the first step in a much needed study of the evolution of the inner world of our ancestors.
