Sapiens: a brief History of Humankind

3.
 A speculative reconstruction of a Neanderthal child. Genetic evidence hints that at least some
Neanderthals may have had fair skin and hair
.
But if the Neanderthals, Denisovans and other human species didn’t merge with
Sapiens, why did they vanish? One possibility is that 
Homo sapiens
drove them to
extinction. Imagine a Sapiens band reaching a Balkan valley where Neanderthals
had lived for hundreds of thousands of years. The newcomers began to hunt the
deer and gather the nuts and berries that were the Neanderthals’ traditional
staples. Sapiens were more pro cient hunters and gatherers – thanks to better
technology and superior social skills – so they multiplied and spread. The less
resourceful Neanderthals found it increasingly di cult to feed themselves. Their
population dwindled and they slowly died out, except perhaps for one or two
members who joined their Sapiens neighbours.
Another possibility is that competition for resources ared up into violence and
genocide. Tolerance is not a Sapiens trademark. In modern times, a small
di erence in skin colour, dialect or religion has been enough to prompt one group
of Sapiens to set about exterminating another group. Would ancient Sapiens have
been more tolerant towards an entirely di erent human species? It may well be

---

that when Sapiens encountered Neanderthals, the result was the rst and most
significant ethnic-cleansing campaign in history.
Whichever way it happened, the Neanderthals (and the other human species)
pose one of history’s great what ifs. Imagine how things might have turned out
had the Neanderthals or Denisovans survived alongside 
Homo sapiens
. What kind
of cultures, societies and political structures would have emerged in a world where
several di erent human species coexisted? How, for example, would religious
faiths have unfolded? Would the book of Genesis have declared that Neanderthals
descend from Adam and Eve, would Jesus have died for the sins of the Denisovans,
and would the Qur’an have reserved seats in heaven for all righteous humans,
whatever their species? Would Neanderthals have been able to serve in the Roman
legions, or in the sprawling bureaucracy of imperial China? Would the American
Declaration of Independence hold as a self-evident truth that all members of the
genus 
Homo
are created equal? Would Karl Marx have urged workers of all species
to unite?
Over the past 10,000 years, 
Homo sapiens
has grown so accustomed to being the
only human species that it’s hard for us to conceive of any other possibility. Our
lack of brothers and sisters makes it easier to imagine that we are the epitome of
creation, and that a chasm separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom.
When Charles Darwin indicated that 
Homo sapiens
was just another kind of
animal, people were outraged. Even today many refuse to believe it. Had the
Neanderthals survived, would we still imagine ourselves to be a creature apart?
Perhaps this is exactly why our ancestors wiped out the Neanderthals. They were
too familiar to ignore, but too different to tolerate.
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 Island about 12,000 years ago. They left behind
some bones, stone tools, a few genes in our DNA and a lot of unanswered
questions. They also left behind us,