The Pre-man Prophet

A Homo Neanderthalus directs his people to extinction, versus opting for prolonged oblivion from Sapiensistic collectivism.

     E was a forerunner in complex thought. He is named E because the complex conglomerate of phonemes that construct his name would be illegible and inconducive to pronunciation by modern humans, much like outsiders trying to read the !Kung speech shorthand used by Anthropologists to annotate the use of the "click" in the language. For those of you just dying to know what his name is, try sounding this out:

(Eee-*squeak EE*-oooo-*guttural ugh*).

     E and the other members of his kinship unit had been living in the Valley of the Caves for a long time. The food variety was rich and diversified, leading to high nutritional value and a desire to stay in the area for more than the usual seasonal haunts. The Homo Heidelbergensisalien traits of E's ancestors had worn themselves out of the population and the newer, more robust traits had fully taken hold in their small population in the area. Unfortunately for E and the familial unit, the appealing qualities of the area were not just for them, but for the Others. Interaction in the Valley of the Caves with the Others was common place but awkward, for the very fact that communication was difficult. Yet as the time passed, the burgeoning population of the Others had caused a significant drop in the availability of the local resources. As one of the foremost patriarchs of the community in the family unit, E did what he could to maintain peaceful interaction. Trade had been established years before any of his people had come about, but it was difficult and fickle at best. The interpopulating and cohabitation did not have the same effect in this area as it did farther west in the Iberian peninsula, where Cromagnon interbreeds existed, possessing genetic traits of both kinds, but conflict resolution by spearpoint reigned supreme, and this would later be represented in the physical statures of remaining Homo Sapien Sapiensis populations that would linger in the area tens of thousands of years later.  

     Big game prey was being nearly hunted out due to the success of the Others ability to work together in bigger groups. The social networks of the Others greatly surpassed those of Neanderthals. Due to greater amounts of interaction with other larger groups, the Others developed tools faster and construction methods were developed to a significantly more sophisticated degree.

     History often neglects to mention some of the things that E and his kind had going for them. Shorter but more robust chest cavities were a very suitable characteristic for the cold winters and mild summers. They were capable runners with muscular bodies that stronger than the Others. Capable of the same types of thinking as the Others, most rational minds would suggest that they were more suitable for survival, apart from the looser social organizations of their familial and hunting parties.

     One particularly cold October day saw two hunting parties chasing the same game. The straight-tusked elephant was holding on as well as it could in the Quaternary period of extinctions, but due to the improvement of hunting technology, spread of hunting parties, and predatory migrations, their numbers were wearing dangerously thin. As a result, when they were spotted in the area, they were immediately pounced upon.

     This particular specimen was a solitary male. Searching for a mate and a herd to be a member of, it was large and aggressive. It was spotted by the hunting group of seven males from E's family, and sixteen from the Others' camp. Atmut (Ath-moot(like foot)) and Anexo (An-eggs-oh) were the leaders of the Others' party. E, M, Pf, and Th were the older and stronger of the Neanderthals.

     Upon noticing the competition by their game, the Others' leaders decided on a more cunning way of getting their food. They went behind the shrubbery alongside the long side of the rocky valley and waited. They gained a high ground and laid low, out of the busied eyes of their opponents.

     Using fire from the communal fire on a torch, E and M shouted and screamed in shrill voices at the animal when they saw it. Pf and Th gave chase from the left side, while the others of the party went into the canyon and climbed up to the lowest ledge dug into the rock. There had been prepositioned weapons there, set up earlier in the morning, including large rocks, wooden spears and clubs, and a sheering-sharpened flint knapped stone approximately nine inches long used for skinning. This being the most prized of the stone tools, it was always kept safe and used only for butchering, not killing, for fear of it being broken.

     E and M gave chase on foot to the elephant. It ran as expected trying to get away, and ran straight toward Pf and Th. Pf and Th got up from their hide and ensured the great beast didn't run out of the pass, and with an outcome as they had expected, they were able to scare the elephant into running into the dead end wall of the pass. While running they threw atlatl missiles from 60 feet away, a distance that could still facilitate a hasty advance to the rear, should the elephant decide to hold its ground which, it inevitably would. As the elephant drew nearer to the dead end, it turned around with a two hundred foot gap between itself and the back wall, too great a distance for the party on the cliff wall to be able to use their implements of destruction. The gap between E and M closed as they ran up, with Pf and Th running along the inside of the wall to try and get closer on the flank without the elephant noticing. A few rocks along the wall provided a brief supply of ammunition, augmenting what they were carrying, for their few spears were precious in the last moments of the chase. They drew what distance they could and began throwing the rocks at the side of the elephant, which turned as anticipated towards them, while M ran over to the other side. Now the creature was surrounded on three sides, being backed into the canyon, and toward its now inescapable fate. A hideou raucous erupted from the tiring Neanderthals as E drew closer with a weighted atlatl. It was heavier in the back than most because of the drop effect that spears have when they hit flesh. As intended, the thrown spear from E hit the chest just below head between the shoulder and the sternum. Without a lot of penetration through the thick hide, the weight at the back of the spear caused the back end to drop to the ground. The angered elephant lurched forward and drove the spear significantly deeper into itself. This stopped the momentum the animal would have gained with a charge, and caused it to retreat toward the wall at the back of the pass, precisely where the Neanderthals intended. With the first spear now splintering from the shock of the enraged elephant, stones would continue to harass the elephant back into its position at the base of the cliff.

     The constant barrage of stones has confused the elephant, and the hunting party closed in. The elephant began bellowing and thrusting out with its trunk to try and stop the bipedal predators. The elephant bucked up on its hind legs, intent on crushing its hunters underfoot, when the cry came out for the Neanderthals on the rocks to throw their giant stones. Two came down onto the backside of the elephant's legs, causing it to stumble. The other two giant stones came down with immaculate precision onto the elephant's head. Not enough to kill the elephant, the remaining, thicker spears where then used to rush in and attack the vulverable points of the elephant, at the stomach, neck, and inside of the knee joints. The elephant's legs then buckled, sending the beast to the ground, where repeated spear wounds, thrown rocks, and continuous bludgeonment caused his eyes to glaze over and all movement to cease. Exhausted, the party kneeled down around the beast and began discussing how it would be divided and cut up for the haul back to the rest of the camp. E sent Pf to go grab some of the younger boys to come help with the movement of the good meat. M set to work cutting out the bladder and other organs that could taint the meat so that they could be used as garments and carrying bags. The heart would be cut out and consumed by the party as a symbolic celebratory representation of their hard won gains.

     The Others watched and wondered why they hadn't swept in and taken the kill, but Atmut explained to them that there were better ways to hunt. They waited until the meat was cut up and ready for transportation, then followed the men and boys taking the meat back to their dwelling. That's when their hunt began.

     Atmut and his company ambushed the Neanderthals just before they got back home. Having little left in terms of weapons, the Neanderthals had to rely mostly on their bare hands, feet, and teeth to defend themselves. The Others still possessed all their weapons, having not used them on the elephant. E was the only survivor.

    

The Others were blessed (or cursed depending on perspective) with the gift of cunning. Vile, deceitful, remorseless cunning.

 

     E returned to his people and gave them the news in a forlorn and broken tone of voice. Now, six people shorter (specifically six of their eight best hunters) they would have to undergo an even longer, harder process of getting more meat to prepare for winter. E and his people went to bed hungry that night, apart from some foliage that they were able to scavenge earlier in the week that was initially intended to be saved and eaten with meat. As he lay trying to fall asleep, E thought he could hear the laughter and shouts of the Others from across the hills over the Valley of the Caves. Embittered by the day, he tried to sleep. Eventually, after turning and tossing in fits, sleep eventually prevailed him, and he dreamt.

     He dreamt of stone birds flying, defecating firey torrents of death upon other stone creatures. There were great flashes, loud bangs, and spears that popped and killed other people. These were prophetic dreams, dreams of the future that the Others' cunning would deliver them. Trying to make sense of it all, he called all his kinsmen to him.

 

Loose translation follows:

"Last night I dreamt, and I will never sleep again. The gods have chosen them over us. The ways in which they think are not the ways in which we think, and we will never be able to reconcile that difference. For that fact, I believe that we will die now, they will prosper now, until a thousand generations later, when the fruit of their seed will reep what they have sewn today. We will disappear, to sit in counsel with the great Ones, and we will bask in their eventual defeat. Whosoever will come with me to avenge our tribe will die this night or on the early morrow, the rest can live as they see fit."

 

     Every male departed with him that night. None of them slept, awaiting the coldest part of the night, just before sunrise, when any sentries would be least likely to investigate any noises they heard.

     The before morning nautical twilight arrived before they could have hoped, they said formal but not too endearing goodbyes to their female kin, and boys from infancy to elderly went to attack the others. E took with him his prized skinning knife of flint. With it he cut out the hearts of Antmut and Anexo. The alarm was sounded, and the fight ensued. Due to superior strength and muscle mass, the Neanderthals were able to dispatch with several of the Others, but their numbers were too great. All of the Neanderthal men fell that night. The next day their women were taken captive by the Others and were subjugated. It was an early start to the disgusting truthes that E had spoken a day beforehand. He truly was a pre-man prophet.

 

Author's Note

Just something that came up in a conversation that I wanted to elaborate on. I know the beginning is kind of slow, but I think it makes a decent point.