Learn more about what we would’ve become
The divide of humanity took place about 600,000 years ago. One group stayed behind in Africa and is the one from which modern day humans came from. The other group ventured into Asia, then Europe and became Homo neanderthalensis, known better as the Neanderthals. They were a sister species of humans, and can’t be termed as ancestors.
Truth about Neanderthals
They were believed to have lived peaceful lives in forests, and humans were blamed for bringing up territoriality, violence and wars. But biology and palaeontology suggest that Neanderthals were skilled in combat and were dangerous in every sense. They were compared to top-tier predators that hunted in packs.
Humans and Neanderthals share the common element of warfare. Studies have shown that they were built just like us and share 99.7% of our DNA. They were also said to have made fire, buried their dead, made jewellery from seashells and animal teeth. It’s safe to assume that they have the same potential for destruction as we do.
Next comes the part of the two species facing each other. Proof that Neanderthals excelled in the art of warfare was that it took humans 100,000 years to win, as they continually resisted modern human expansion. This must be the main reason as to why we took a long time to leave Africa and migrate to other areas. Neanderthals had already made colonies in Europe and Asia at that point and was not willing to give up their homes.
Various theories suggest that humans would’ve spent years trying to get a military and tactical advantage of them, as not only were they good at weapons and war tactics, they also had a proper understanding of the terrain.