Ever since I watched a rather crude science fiction movie as a young boy, I’ve had a fascination with the possibility of us Homo sapiens meeting other intelligent beings in my lifetime. Scientists have now determined that Homo sapiens have lived among at least seven other human species in the past thousands of years. Yet, Homo sapiens alone have survived. Nature has a way of “thinning the herd” through disease and starvation as we’ve observed when animals such as deer populations exceed the ability of their environment to support them. There is a cycle of growth and decline on the Kansas prairies for coyotes and rabbits—the hunters and the hunted.
Two of these human species on
our family tree were Denisovans and Neanderthals that had a long run before
disappearing from the historical record along with the others. Mankind has a consistent history of violence
and genocide, especially in times of shortages of food and territory. Homo sapiens seem to have that “survival of
the fittest” history imbedded in our DNA and now we only have our own species left
to continue the struggle.
The Neanderthals in particular
coexisted with Homo sapiens for thousands of years. They actually had bigger brains than Homo
sapiens. Neanderthals lived in smaller groups but Homo sapiens had developed larger
and better social networks that allowed innovative thinking through
knowledge-sharing. A small group of
Neanderthals was no match for a band of 150 Sapiens. And there is apparent evidence that although
they may even have interbred, a war of attrition facilitated by conflicts
eventually sealed their fate and dropped them from the family tree along with
the other species that had emerged. The crushed Neanderthal skull above is but one example of the conflict.
It’s been
noted that for the Neanderthals to have persevered for so long, they must have
held their own through numerous territorial battles, suggesting a comparable
level of intelligence. Nick Longrich has
concluded “Today we look up at the stars and wonder if we’re alone in
the universe. In fantasy and science fiction, we wonder what it
might be like to meet other intelligent species, like us, but not us. It’s
profoundly sad to think that we once did, and now, because of it, they’re
gone.”
There has always been a
concern, especially since the development of atomic energy, that our
technological advancements by a minute segment have outrun the social and moral
development of the masses. If we are being monitored by other more
intelligent beings, that may explain why Watchers have been noticed over many
of our nuclear entities. It may
explain such setbacks as the great flood and worldwide pandemics. It may explain why they are hesitant to make
contact.
I recall a sketch
that I encountered some time ago that illustrated two incredulous wide-eyed
aliens standing at the base of a cross where a crucified man was dying. The caption read “I know what we’re going to
do. We’re going
to get the hell out of here.”
