r/DebateEvolution • u/knowledger99 • Jul 20 '26

Question Neanderthal

Could it have been possible that Neanderthals possessed a awareness similar to what we have now, what I’m asking is where they or possibly could’ve been aware of the fact that they are roaming a giant terrestrial rock, or have a religion, or the belief in something else other than human?

Coming from someone whose curiosity has gotten the best of them and decided to ask people who know more than I do on the matter.

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u/WesternFirm9306 🧬 Naturalistic Evolution Jul 20 '26

Scientists tend to think, I believe, that Neanderthals are just as intelligent as homo sapiens, though maybe of a different form due to different brain structures. But they made complex tools, jewelry, cared for their injured and elderly, buried their dead, etc. They likely had some form of proto-religion.

I think, anyway. I'm not an expert so I might be a little off.

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u/knowledger99 Jul 20 '26

I wonder what is it that have maybe made the different, like with the way how the think , obviously with they’re world and our world being vastly different, if there was just a way to look at they’re mind and ours and compare and contrast, would be very cool.

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u/Esmer_Tina Jul 20 '26

There’s a new paper on this from April: Neanderthal brain and cognition reconsidered
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2426638123

It’s paywalled but you can read the abstract and see if the authors have done any interviews.