Ancestors

Whether Sapiens are to blame or not, no sooner had they arrived at a new location than the native population became extinct. The last remains of Homo soloensis are dated to about 50,000 years ago. Homo denisova disappeared shortly thereafter. Neanderthals made their exit roughly 30,000 years ago. The last dwarf-like humans vanished from Flores Isla

... See more

It seems that about 50,000 years ago, Sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans were at that borderline point. They were almost, but not quite, entirely separate species. As we shall see in the next chapter, Sapiens were already very different from Neanderthals and Denisovans not only in their genetic code and physical traits, but also in their cognitiv

... See more

The variations were usually very small, although sometimes enormous, but in every case, there is a sense of the individual, of the appropriate way to send a specific person across the border into a different life. What did that look like? The women buried wearing the skins of lynx, or laid out beneath heavy bear pelts; the swords stuck vertically i

... See more