What A Day In The Life of A Neanderthal Was Like Wie ein Tag im Leben eines Neandertalers aussah Cómo era un día en la vida de un neandertal ネアンデルタール人の一日 Jak wyglądał dzień z życia neandertalczyka Como era um dia na vida de um Neandertal Каким был день из жизни неандертальца Яким був день з життя неандертальця 尼安德特人的日常生活是怎样的 尼安德塔人生活中的一天是什麼樣的

The date is... well, actually, you don't really know.

You wake up on a mat made of reeds, roughly woven together with natural plant fibers. ||||||||reeds|||||||plant threads

The animal hide blanket you use for warmth barely keeps out the morning chill of the

European steppes- but you're not very affected by the icy cold. |steppes|||||||||

That's because your chest is large, and your form squat and short, which helps conserve |||||||||compact and short||||| Это потому, что грудь у вас большая, а форма приседания короткая, что способствует сохранению

body heat.

Thick, dark body hair also helps keep the cold at bay. ||||||||||at bay

You're not sure what the date is, because your neanderthal brain has difficulty processing |||||||||primitive human brain||||

lengths of time greater than the years you've been alive.

You're not stupid though, or even particularly unintelligent, your large brain simply has

trouble dealing with more abstract concepts.

You're more than capable of making a plethora of hunting tools, and other implements for |||||||wide variety||||||implements|

daily life such as bone needles and cooking tools- but your tools are largely hand-me-downs,

and you, nor any of your forefathers, have really innovated on them for thousands of

years.

They remain the same in form and function as when they were first thought up countless

generations ago.

You are however, capable of some abstract thinking.

And as you rise off your reed mat you turn your eyes to the cave wall beside you.

The morning sunshine streams in through the large opening and you can make out the rough

shapes you've scratched into the walls using sharpened bits of stone.

You've managed to make some very basic animal shapes, and have stenciled your hand onto |||||||||||traced or outlined|||

the walls of the cave in several places.

You almost exclusively draw things you have already seen though, such as animals, rather

than create designs from your imagination- which isn't very good anyways.

Still, the fact that you've created even this rudimentary artwork means that you're far ||||||||basic or simple|||||

more intelligent than the beasts that you hunt.

Speaking of hunting, you have preparations to make for the day.

The only food available for breakfast is a small assembly of various fungi, lichens, ||||||||||||mushrooms and lichens|fungus-algae symbionts

berries, and nuts.

There's not much left though, and your large stomach rumbles hungrily- if you want to eat |||||||||rumbles|hungrily|||||

today you'll have to hunt.

You share your cave with a small family group.

At twenty years old you are the senior member of this family group, your father and mother

have long ago died.

With an average lifespan of just thirty years, they still managed to live into their forties,

which is an incredible feat for any neanderthal.

You took care of them as they grew older, fed and provided for them even long after

they stopped being useful to the family.

One day your family unit will do the same for you.

For now though, it's time to hunt.

Your younger brother often accompanies you on the hunt, while your mate and your sister

typically forage nearby for nuts, berries, and other edible items. |search for food||||||||

Your diet varies depending on your luck in the hunt- some family groups eat meat almost

exclusively, while family groups deep in the woods eat an all-vegetarian diet.

From your home here on the edge of the steppes, you have the best of both worlds, and are

able to hunt when the herds are around, but also forage and gather when hunting is difficult.

For this hunt you take with you a spear and a small sharp rock. ||||||||long pointed weapon|||||

The spear is made of a sharpened rock point held to the wooden shaft with a natural glue Копье изготовлено из заостренного каменного острия, прикрепленного к деревянному древку с помощью натурального клея.

that you and your family have concocted for generations, though you also use pitch occasionally ||||||created or devised|||||||tar-like substance| die Sie und Ihre Familie seit Generationen zusammenbrauen, obwohl Sie gelegentlich auch Pech verwenden которую вы и ваша семья готовили на протяжении многих поколений, хотя вы также иногда используете смолу.

when necessary.

Though you are strong, you're only strong in short bursts, and despite lacking any natural

weapons, your keen intellect and ability to ambush coupled with the long-range striking Оружие, острый интеллект и умение устраивать засады в сочетании с дальнобойными ударами

power of a spear makes you a feared predator.

Still, hunting is dangerous and difficult work, and for this you'll need help.

Trekking through the forest for a few miles, you hear a familiar call and spot another Trekking|||||||||||||||

small band of hunters.

You exchange greetings in a halting, terse form of proto-language. ||||||concise|||| Вы обмениваетесь приветствиями на прото-языке.

You have learned to symbolize certain emotions and items with different sounds, even sounding

out barks and grunts which might resemble spoken words- though you lack the mental capacity |||grunts|||||||||||

to expand on this breakthrough and string together various sounds to represent more

abstract ideas and concepts.

This proto language however, combined with body language, is more than enough to communicate

some surprisingly advanced hunting strategies and enable cooperation with your neighbors.

Typically you hunt the large megafauna of the European steppes and plains, seeking prey |||||large animals||||||||

such as woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceros. ||woolly||||rhinoceros

Lacking the speed of animals such as the sabre-toothed tiger, a feared predator, you rely on overwhelming Не обладая скоростью таких животных, как саблезубый тигр, страшный хищник, вы полагаетесь на непреодолимую

slower moving large animals.

Sometimes though you hunt smaller game such as ibex, boars, and deer- but these are much ||||||||ibex|boars||||||

trickier to catch. trickier||

They are fleet of foot, and your spear is not very well designed for throwing. Они быстро передвигаются, а ваше копье не очень хорошо приспособлено для метания.

To hunt these animals you must rely on stealth, hiding in thick foliage and waiting for an ||||||||stealth||||dense plant cover||||

unsuspecting animal to come close before striking out with your spear.

Today though you and your small hunting party will hunt mammoth.

A herd was observed approaching a few days ago, and word quickly spread through the small

neanderthal communities in your area.

You'll have to hurry if you want a successful hunt, as other groups will be looking to bag

their own mammoth, and over hunting of the herd will inevitably drive it away.

When times are tough and food is scarce, you and your family group might follow the herds, |||||||in short supply|||||||||

sometimes for hundreds of miles.

But for now your temporary home seems to be providing for all your needs.

An untold amount of time in the future, another species will think back on your hunting strategies

and wonder how you felled giant woolly mammoths. ||||fell|||mammoths

They'll hypothesize that you drove the animals off cliffs, killing any survivors and feasting. |||||||||||||feasting

In some rare cases, this does occur, but you hunt these beasts the same way your ancestors

did- with sheer tenacity. |||unwavering determination

You and your group slowly sneak your way through the tall grasses, approaching ever closer

to the wandering herd.

It would be foolish to try to take one of the big males, the animal is simply too strong

and powerful to be felled by your small band.

You grunt, grabbing the attention of your small band, and signal to a young female towards |grunt|||||||||||||| Вы ворчите, привлекая внимание своей небольшой группы, и подаете сигнал молодой женщине, направляясь к ней.

the back of the herd.

She's likely an adolescent, though still weighs over two tons, and old enough to no longer

be watched over by her mother.

Now she's strayed just far enough from the herd to give you an opportunity. ||strayed|||||||||||

You continue slinking through the grass, your animal hides helping you to blend in with ||creeping||||||||||||

the muddy ground.

Just a few dozen feet away though, the massive animal spots you and lets loose an alarmed Однако всего в нескольких десятках футов от вас массивное животное замечает вас и испускает тревожный крик

trumpeting call. trumpeting|

You yell excitedly and charge at the animal, your hunting party joining in. Вы возбужденно кричите и бросаетесь на животное, а ваша охотничья компания присоединяется к вам.

The mammoth is large, and though she can still move at a healthy rate, she's not nearly fast Мамонт очень велик, и хотя он все еще может двигаться со здоровой скоростью, его нельзя назвать быстрым.

enough to outrun you.

You and your party reach the animal and stab your spears into her side. ||||||||||pointed weapons|||

You work to cut her off from the herd, encouraging her to run away from the safety of the larger

mammoths by continuously stabbing her on the side facing towards them.

The panicked, wounded animal thus turns away from her herd, and unknowingly to her eventual

death.

Panting, your chest burning, you continue running after the animal.

You and your pack mates take turns sprinting up to her and stabbing into her flesh, before

falling back so you can fall into a slower jog and catch your breath.

Your hunting tactics resemble those of a pack of wolves, with members taking breaks while ||strategies|are like|||||||||||

others rush forward to harass their quarry. ||||||hunted target

Eventually the mammoth is overwhelmed by dozens of stab wounds, and exhausted, she stands

her ground, unable to run anymore.

It is soon over for the large animal. Для крупного животного все скоро закончится.

You send back your younger brother to gather the family group, it will take all hands to

butcher and haul back the meat- but you will eat very well for several days.

Unfortunately, you will have to hunt again soon as you and your people haven't developed

the techniques of drying meat in order to preserve it.

You must eat it before rot sets in and spoils it, and thus most of the meat from the giant |||||||||spoils||||||||||

animal will be left behind for the scavengers. |||||||scavengers

This practice however has unexpected benefits, and a pack of large wolves has smelled your

kill.

Yet the animals don't attack you- they have learned over many generations that all they

have to do is simply wait for you to have your fill, and then they will get the larger

share of the spoils. |||spoils

Instead, the wolves simply sit and wait, and as an added benefit they even chase away prowling ||||||||||||||||lurking

sabre-toothed tigers trying to muscle in on your kill. Саблезубые тигры, пытающиеся покуситься на вашу добычу.

You don't realize it, but this learned behavior is setting the roots down for a bond between

two species- modern man and wild dogs- which may one day drive you extinct. два вида - современный человек и дикие собаки, - которые однажды могут привести к вашему вымиранию.

The meat is sliced with sharpened rocks, and once your family arrives it is quickly wrapped

up in furs for transporting.

The hide is incredibly valuable though and while meat will be left behind, very little Однако шкура невероятно ценна, и хотя мясо будет оставлено, его будет очень мало.

of the hide will go to waste. ||animal skin||||

From the hide you can craft clothing and blankets, some groups have even created crude sails

for small boats.

It will be evenly split between you and the other family group which joined you in the

hunt, in the past there was often violence for the spoils, but you have learned to work

together for the betterment of both groups. |||improvement|||

Back at your cave, you allow your mate to prepare the meat as you in turn attempt to ||||||||||||||||try to|

prepare your fire.

Unable to reproduce fire yourself, you instead keep small burning embers lasting as long ||sustain burning embers||||||||glowing remnants|||

as possible after discovering fires started by lightning strikes and other natural phenomenon.

Adding pine needles to a few embers, you soon have a roaring flame. |pine|||||||||||

You have no idea, but the act of cooking your food is creating a bright new future for your

descendants. Future generations

That's because cooking food makes it easier to digest, which in turn frees up energy which

the brain gets to consume instead of the gut.

In every other animal, most of the body's energy is used up in digestion, but in your

neanderthal biology, cooked food allows the brain to use more and more energy.

Eventually this will have dramatic consequences for your species, and the species to follow

yours.

Along with the mammoth meat you eat a helping of lichens and mosses. ||||||||||lichen and moss||moss

You've learned to eat a certain fungus that grows on decomposing things, which you would ||||||mushroom||||||||

normally avoid.

Over many generations your people have discovered that this specific fungus helps keep you healthy,

and when you're sick helps fight illness.

Unknowingly you've developed one of the first antibacterial treatments in the world, and

you make sure to consume small quantities of the unpleasant fungus with your meals.

Your belly is full, and outside the sun is starting to dip below the horizon.

Normally you and your family would huddle in the cave for warmth and safety, fearful ||||||huddle||||||||

of what predators lurk in the dark.

But with a roaring fire you don't fear the animals outside your cave, for you know that

they fear fire enough to stay away.

Today was a very good day, your family has survived another day on the European steppes,

and you have enough food to last for the immediate future.

The mammoths will likely remain for a few weeks, and you will have plenty of prey to

hunt.

Alongside you on your reed mattress, your mate pushes herself closer to you for warmth Рядом с вами на тростниковом матрасе ваша подруга прижимается к вам, чтобы согреться

and comfort.

You can't communicate the idea, but she means more to you than other females, in a way that's

strangely different.

She is not like your mother, whom you cared for until she passed away and respected as

an elder, nor is she like your sister whom you are bonded to by blood as a sibling.

Your mate is simply... different.

She inspires emotions and feelings within you that you struggle to understand, but are

different from any other female.

You find yourself frustrated at your inability to understand or communicate these feelings,

even as you are surprised to discover that it is important to you that she herself understands

her significance.

You rise from your mat, and mixing some of the mammoth fat with dirt and blood, you smear

it on your hand.

Then, you grunt and gently coo at your mate, sounds that will one day form the basis for |||||coo|||||||||||| Затем вы хрюкаете и нежно воркуете со своим товарищем - звуки, которые однажды станут основой для

spoken words.

You signal at the mammoth fat mixture, and motioning to your hand, recognition dawns ||||||||motioning|||||occurs Вы сигнализируете мамонту о жирной смеси, и, указывая на свою руку, узнаете.

on her face as she follows your example.

Then, grabbing her hand, you push both of your hands together against the cave wall,

leaving side by side impressions on the stone.

You don't know why, but you find this deeply satisfying.

In the years to come for as long as you occupy this cave you'll often look upon the hand

impressions fondly, and when bad hunting forces you to migrate and find a new cave, you'll |fondly||||||||||||||

repeat the act there as well.

Your children will learn this from you and recreate the side-by-side hand impressions

with their mates, passing the tradition on to their own children.

For now, this simple act is the only way you can express to your mate her significance,

and to the world as well, but one day your people will mate with smaller, more intelligent

people from far to the south, passing the tradition on.

Eventually the idea you struggled to understand in your own brain- love- will be shared in

hundreds of languages, and descendants you can't even imagine will live one day who will

at last understand that you were not a dumb brute, but a rational, intelligent, and loving

creature.

Think you could have survived as a neanderthal?

Tell us your prehistoric lifehacks in the comments! ||||lifehacks|||

Then go watch “Lion vs T Rex - Who Would Win?”

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