Humans have crossed paths on the battlefield for so long that war has become an intrinsic part of our species. But have we made enemies with our ancient ancestors, too? Going back to prehistoric times, Neanderthals — the now-extinct species that looked and acted quite similar to modern humans — would have been a fitting rival.
Still, researchers question how often they fought, or if they even fought at all.
John Shea, a paleoanthropologist at Stony Brook University, says the case for consistent hostility between Neanderthals and humans is tough to make. Fossil evidence for face-to-face contact between them is slim, so whether they liked or despised each other probably varied, Shea says.
Reacting with violence, while not an impossible outcome, would have likely been too costly for either group. A smarter idea would have been to simply ignore each other.
“It’s a big, empty world back then. There’s not ...
