by Trapper John » Fri Nov 07, 2014 11:28 am
I've never been in any doubt that our modern man ancestor would have encountered Neanderthals, it stands to reason there was probably some hanky-panky as well, how often of course is open to debate.
I'm surprised that researchers are puzzled by why encounters appear to have been rare. When you think that now there are 7 billion people on this planet - you can still find places where you could live and never see another human being - so imagine an entire world populated by just a few million hominids.
Keith mate, there is nothing to suggest that Neanderthals lived up to the popular image we have given to them - of being synonymous with unintelligent, violent thugs.
Quite the opposite, there is no evidence to suggest they were violent toward each other and in fact lived in small family units where care for each other from cradle to grave was commonplace and that they even had a form of funeral rite, which shows they had an empathy with life and death.
I'm also guessing that it is likely sex wasn't always consensual, but hey, I think the concept of dating and foreplay was a few tens of thousands of years away for pretty much all life.