The standard evolutionary story of the arrival of our species depends too much on strikingly modern assumptions. Material survival, social skills, and the development of technology are the interpretative tools used to read the evidence.
So in Part 1 of this alternative narrative, I developed an account that prioritises inner life and lived experience. Neanderthals and the other species who were our deep ancestors discovered a spiritual intelligence that reached way beyond the purely utilitarian. An engagement with the spiritual commons marks out them and us.
In this second part of the alternative story, I explore the impact of this realisation upon Homo sapiens in particular. Our lives and experience are profoundly shaped not by stone age problems but an ever-renewing awareness of transcendent realities.
The essay is at my Substack, A Golden String.