The First Peoples

Across the Fence #558


Recently I watched a PBS program called “First Peoples,” a documentary series, that covers the evolution of man in light of recent discoveries, such as the ability to sequence gnomes and ancient DNA studies. 200,000 years ago we took our first steps on the African savanna. Today there are 7 billion of us living on every corner of planet earth. How did our ancestors beat the odds, spread from continent to continent and survive? 

Researchers now think that early man evolved simultaneously in a number of places across Africa instead of just eastern Africa. The series includes clips with biologists and other researchers who explain their work and the new discoveries that are directly related to their work.

Scientists are beginning to realize that ours is not a pedigree species, but a patchwork quilt. We are all hybrids. I found this out when I took a DNA test and found out I carry 2.6% Neanderthal DNA. It shows that in prehistoric times, about 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, our ancestors met and mated with Neanderthals. As someone who has had a great interest in the technology and findings of Anthropology and Archeology, I find it interesting that for years we thought Neanderthals were wiped out by modern humans, because Neanderthals weren’t as intelligent as we were. Now we know that instead of fighting and killing each other when they met, as we tend to do today, they decided they would try to intermingle and get along together, instead of fight. Isn’t that a novel idea? They decided to make love not war, and that’s why I have 2.6% DNA from those ancient ancestors who were a lot smarter than researchers thought they were. 

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, during the scene in the churchyard, Hamlet holds a skull and says, “That skull had a tongue in it, and could sing once.”

Many times I’ve held a piece of history in my hands and wished it could speak also.

The PBS show got me thinking about objects that often show up in plowed fields. I think I should have gone into the field of archeology or history instead of art. I’ve always had a fascination for old things and their history.   

When I find an arrowhead I wonder about the person who created it. Someone had to sit down and chip the stone into that pointed shape. Next, they fastened it to a wooden shaft they also made. Then feathering was added at the other end to stabilize the arrow’s flight. That took a lot of time and craftsmanship.

Then I wonder how the arrowhead came to rest where it was unearthed hundreds or even thousands of years later. Was it fired at a source of food for the family?  Did it hit the target or miss and end up lost in the brush? There it lay for years, the wood shaft and feathers long ago having returned to the earth. All that survived was the stone arrowhead.

Another possibility is that it was fired at an enemy. Did it hit or miss? Did a battle between opposing tribes take place where the arrowhead was found? Or was it fired at a white man encroaching on the Native’s land?

So many questions, so few answers. As author Ben Logan once told me, “It’s the writer in us that wants to know the rest of the story.”

If only the skull that Hamlet held could talk. If only the arrowhead I hold could tell me the rest of the story.

Artifacts, including tools, artwork, and jewelry have been found. It’s believed that Neanderthals may have created the first jewelry. Necklaces made of bones and animal teeth were strung together and appear to have been bound with leather bands. Carved figures also have been discovered. Bones with holes punched in them were used as musical instruments. Those Neanderthals were not as dumb as people thought. These discoveries show that they were able to think and use their reasoning in ways to create usable items. One of those artifacts found among Neanderthal sites is a hide scraper that looks very much like one I have that was used by the Lakota on the Great Plains of North America 1,000 years ago. The one made by the Neanderthals was used 50,000 years ago. It’s interesting that an item created so long ago can still be used for the same purpose today. 

How many things that we create today will still have a use 50,000 years from now? I don't think very many of them will. That's another thing that I find fascinating about archaeology as they find more and more evidence of what our ancestors were able to do. These same weapons and items can still be used today. They’re still functional. My laptop is over eight years old and is considered a double antique. It certainly won't be working in 100 years, not even 10 years.

Another thing I think about; many of the artifacts that are found in archeological digs have to do with the arts, music, sculptures, and cave art. I find it disheartening that the arts, that were so important to our early ancestors, are being relegated to the non-essential subjects in schools today, as budgets are cut by our politicians. There’s always money for new sport stadiums, but not for the arts. 

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