Did Neanderthal Genes Cause the Advancement of Human Civilization?
Let’s look at the facts: modern humans made basically zero progress for over 163,000 years. They didn’t invent much. They didn’t develop any significant societies. They didn’t build much of anything. They were basically hunter-gatherers that did not make any technological progress for 163,000 years. To put that in perspective, virtually all of human progress has been made over the last 37,000 years. The traits of modern humans could be summed up as very traditional, stable, with a low capacity/tolerance for risk, innovation, change and progress. In short, they were temperamentally too stable and too disinclined towards free thought or creativity to make any recognizable progress over the first 163,000 years of their existence on this planet. Modern humans were also trapped mostly in Africa because their rivals — the Neanderthals — occupied Europe and Asia and could basically kick the living crap out of them if they ever dared to venture into this Neanderthal territory, because Neande
