Homo neanderthalensis: Verified True Symbolic Thought

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Author note.

Explore voice = Exploratory style. Very punchy. Personal, and lively using “me,” “you,” “us,” and “I” freely.

I want you to feel me right there with you. We use “I” and “me” and “us” without apology. If the Explain voice is a bridge, the Explore voice is the hike we take across it. It is lively, reflective, and sometimes a bit raw. It is the sound of a shared exploration where I lead you by the hand, but we both discover the view at the same time.

This is where I get to think out loud. Not with definitions, we aren’t just looking at the facts; we are looking at how they feel and what they mean for our lives. I’m talking to you about what I’ve found and what I’m still figuring out. It is engaging because it is real, and it is reflective because it is honest.

The goal is real advice and enjoyable reading. I want to land on something you can actually use. It’s about being direct, being punchy, and making sure that by the time we reach the end of the page, we’ve both found something worth keeping.

And now the piece.

Homo neanderthalensis: Verified True Symbolic Thought

430,000 BCE

On Earth from 430,000 to 29,000 BCE

16,000 Generations Ago

True symbolic thought emerges before 430,000 BCE: The discovery in 2018 of Neanderthal art dating back to 68,000 years ago, proved symbolic thought in Neanderthals. It also indicates strongly that symbolic thought evolved in or before our common ancestor about 430,000 years ago. This must be true unless either they evolved it separately in an example of convergent evolution or we’re wrong about the art, meaning we’re wrong about our idea that humans were not in Spain until after that art. (see my Occam’s Razor article.)

See Beyond the Brain: Reassessing Neanderthal Intelligence, for more information. Humans and Neanderthals had a common ancestor about 430,000 BCE (current estimates range from 430,000 to 450,000 BCE). Humans did not evolve from Neanderthals, but both are the current evolution of a common ancestor: Homo Heidelbergensis. After the split, Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals interbred up to and as recently as 29,000 BCE. Through DNA testing we can identify DNA that came from interbreeding with Neanderthals. They built shelters, wore clothes, used tools, and spoke. Neanderthal DNA in modern humans is the highest in East Asians, intermediate in Europeans, and lower in Southeast Asians.

Class: Mammal; Genus: Homo; Diet: Omninivore
Brain Size: 1,200 to 1,700 cm³ (humans=avg=1,350; 1,200 to 1,500 cm³)
Brain to Body EQ: 4.5 to 5.5, but maybe 6.2, or even 7.9? (humans=7.4 to 7.8)
Evolved in Europe, spread to Africa and the Middle East.
Last known: 29,000 BCE in the mountains of Polar Ural, northeastern part of Komi, Russian Federation.

Primary Timeline…

References

D’Anastasio, R., Wroe, S., Tuniz, C., Mancini, L., Cesana, D. T., & Boscaini, A. (2013). “Micro-Biomechanics of the Kebara 2 Hyoid and Its Implications for Speech in Neanderthals.” PLoS ONE, 8(12), e82261.
Krause, J., et al. (2007). “The Derived FOXP2 Variant of Modern Humans Was Shared with Neandertals.” Current Biology, 17(21), 1908-1912.
Wynn, T., & Coolidge, F. L. (2011). “How To Think Like a Neandertal.” Oxford University Press.

That History Story,

was first published on TST 5 years ago.

The flashcard inspired by it is this.

All this is part of the broader TST project.

Each tidbit carries its own links and academic citations, allowing claims to be traced back to their original sources without overloading longer essays.

Over time, this structure allows related ideas to reconnect naturally across disciplines and across years.

The end!