Throughout the 19th century, when the theory of evolution was struggling to land in the public imagination, discussions about Neanderthals were ignored or dispelled by most…. In 1864, J. W. Dawson described Neanderthals as “half-crazed, half-idiotic, cruel and strong,” while others felt their skulls had more in common with chimpanzees than humans.
Neanderthals have always been human, technically, in the sense they belong to the genus of great apes known as Homo alongside our species. However, Malit is asking whether Neanderthals are perceived as sharing some sense of “humanity”, particularly in their capacity for compassion, creativity, and consciousness.
The answer to that question has to be yes: we can now say with confidence that Neanderthals were just as “human” as Homo sapiens.
Related on the SLP
You could even make a case that they were more “human” than us. Among the many factors that led to their extinction, some argue that Neanderthals were effectively outcompeted by Homo sapiens (or, alternatively, many believe they were outbred and absorbed into our species). It might be argued that Homo sapiens had the upper hand because of their violent and expansionist tendencies, not their sensitivity and compassion.
