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What If Two Hominin Species Met Each Other? (A Fictional Story)

I just have gotten back from school not even fully in the door yet when I realized I had forgotten my cell phone in the lab. So of course, I run back to my car and speed to my lab building to find my phone…it is so weird that I forgot it because normally I can never go anywhere without this thing, it must’ve been the thought of hunger keeping me distracted from grabbing my cell phone. While trying to get back into the lab room because it was locked (just my luck) I noticed something odd going on down the hallway. There was this bulletin board taking about Neanderthals (my teacher's favorite subject) and I swear I am not crazy, but it sounded like some type of noise was coming out of it. It sounded like a dying animal and me trying to rationalize it because I cannot be going crazy around this early in the semester, I chalked it up to hidden speakers. Boy was I wrong! While checking out the bulletin board I started to get cold and it just kept on getting colder and colder and then next thing I know there is snow all around me… not just snow…ICE!

At this point, I am so confused and out of my mind I literally thought I was going insane; I mean I just wanted my phone and now here I am in the middle of who knows where freezing my butt off. I was totally at a loss, no clue what to do. In the distance, I saw some figure in the snow and I called out to them waving frantically for their attention, of course, they didn’t notice me because of the snow, but I followed them because well they seemed to know where they were going. What I saw afterward was amazing for the anthropologist in me. Two hominin species interacting with each other!!

From the looks of each of the hominin species, I believe they were Homo heidelbergensis and a Neanderthal (as known as Homo neanderthalensis). They were gathered by the fire warming up post hunting trip it seems. Something even more interesting about this interaction was that coming from a makeshift shelter was a child; thus, indicating that once upon a time or currently these two hominin species were mates! Of course, observing this made me wonder, what was it like when these two hominin species first meet each other? I figured it would have gone like this…

 

The confusing/interesting starring as known as the awkward meet. The noticing of each other’s “strange” features like Homo heidelbergensis large brow ridge, flatter face, and five-foot height versus the Neanderthal ‘s enlarged occipital region and their short, stocky bodies. And then maybe they would have just gone on their way going back to their daily activities of hunting and providing for their families? Until they meet again…but then what?

 

I also began to think about, what if they saw each other as enemies not recognizing one another as a hominin. I do not think that this would have been the case since similar features between each other might’ve been recognized, but even if this is the case another question arises…would they still attack to defend their territory and/or family? I truly do not know the answer to this, but I would think that if they were to attack each other they would most likely use their hunting tools and hunting skill as a way of defense… maybe??

 

What if curiosity got the best of them and they began to communicate with each other asking questions and learning? Are they capable of such things? What if their interaction was similar to an American meeting a British person and we began comparing our language style and culture?

 

There are just so many questions to have answered and I am so excited to have been able to see this interaction between TWO hominin species even if it was only for a couple minutes. While watching these individuals interact with each other and thinking about their interaction with each other I must’ve missed something important because next thing I knew I was back in my school’s hallway. Maybe I was daydreaming while reading the board, to be honest, I do not have the slightest clue, but as far as I know, for now, I am wanting to learn more about these hominin species (their cultures, their technologies, their way of life) and then maybe one day I will be able to answer such questions.

 

 

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  1. Marc KisselJune 22, 2020 at 11:36 AM

    Wow, i really loved this piece! it is so imaginative and interesting. i love the framing and the mixture of science and narrative is super well down. honestly i just wanted to know more! i do wonder what technologies and ideas moved between these populations. Some folks think that a sort of Stimulus diffusion could have occured between different species and then ask can we tell if they got the idea of a stone tool type by finding in on the ground or though direct teaching. Hard to know for sure but interesting to try to untangle!

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