[Xmca-l] Re: Every era seems to find the Neanderthal it needs.

[Annalisa Aguilar]

Hi Helen, Henry, and esteemed others,

I agree that many of us might easily to fall into Euro-centric thinking about this, and that should be resisted.

But perhaps the point here is not about looking at one cause but a society of causes. :)

For example, the socialization of dogs and humans appear to be one development as well. That is the society we have with another species. We can consider cats and cows and mules and horses and oxen and chickens and pigs too, even elephants and monkeys!

I don't think the idea is to say that Neanderthals were stupid (that they couldn't think abstractly), which I think the article points out, but that the development of Homo Sapiens were more rapid because of population density *at that point in history* AND that the thin population structure of Neanderthals made them a more vulnerable group. 

All you have to do is think about Chris McCandless story Into The Wild to see how easy it is to be vulnerable and not survive the elements. Some people would call him stupid for doing that, but isn't it more from creating a thin population structure of one, albeit unprepared, individual, than wanting to be out in the wild? In a certain way we are all still out in the wild.

What I liked about the article is that it gently asks us to consider our own vulnerabilities and their social causes. That we, like the Neanderthal, are not immune to dying out. 

Kind regards,

Annalisa