prehistoric burials make me really emotional because people go “it’s natural to only think of yourself to get ahead! people who don’t do anything shouldn’t be a part of society! back in caveman days they would have died!”
but there is archaeological proof that this is wrong. That even at our most “primitive” we cared about the well being of others.
like Shanindar 1. Shanindar 1 is a neanderthal from 35,000 to 45,000 years ago who was buried with many others in Shanindar Cave, Israel. At this point in time we had not yet developed settlements. Shanindar 1 was part of a nomadic hunter-gatherer group.
Shanindar 1 was severely disabled. From his skeleton we can gather the following
At a young age he had suffered a blow to the face which left him blind in one eye
He had significant hearing loss from birth deformities. One ear canal was completely blocked, while the other was only mostly blocked.
His right, and probably dominant, arm was withered, fractured, and the bottom half amputated.
He had a limp, possibly from a degenerative disease.
If you believe that it’s only natural to abandon the weak he should have been left to die instead of drain the group’s resources. Someone like that would have needed assistance for his entire life. He would have slowed the group down with his limp. His sensory impairments meant he would require help to spot and defend himself from predators. His arm meant he couldn’t hunt or build.
He lived well into his 40s. For a neanderthal of that era he would be considered old. His group decided that they would help him survive not because he brought anything to the group, but because he was still a person who mattered to them. Even at the end of his life he wasn’t abandoned; he was buried with dozens of others.
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