Maligned Neanderthal reveals his caring, sharing side

A team from the University of York examined archaeological evidence for the way emotions emerged in our ancestors and developed into the modern age.

One of the key findings was that, in Europe between about 500,000 and 40,000 years ago, early humans such as Homo heidelbergensis and Neanderthals developed commitments to the welfare of others, illustrated by a long adolescence and a dependence on hunting together.

The injured or infirm were routinely cared for in this period, according to the findings, which were published yesterday,.

Remains examined by researchers from the university's Department of Archaeology revealed that a child with a congenital brain abnormality was not abandoned but lived until five or six, and a Neanderthal with a withered arm, deformed feet and blindness in one eye was cared for, perhaps for as long as 20 years.

The archaelogists have developed a four-stage model of empathy beginning six million years ago, when the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees began to "help" others, perhaps with a gesture of comfort or moving a branch to allow them to pass.

Dr Penny Spikins, who led the study, said new research developments such as neuro-imaging have enabled archaeologists to attempt a scientific explanation of what were once intangible feelings of ancient humans.

She said: "Compassion is perhaps the most fundamental human emotion. It binds us together and can inspire us but it is also fragile and elusive. This apparent fragility makes addressing the evidence for the development of compassion in our most ancient ancestors a unique challenge, yet the archaeological record has an important story to tell about the prehistory of compassion.

"We have traditionally paid a lot of attention to how early humans thought about each other, but it may well be time to pay rather more attention to whether or not they 'cared'."