70,000 years ago,Earth wasn’t ruled by one human species,but by at least six.
Homo sapiens were just one of many.
Others were stronger,colder,smaller, or wiser in ways we can't imagine.
But only we survived.
Why?
A thread on the murder,mating & mystery behind human evolution 🧬👇
Homo sapiens were just one of many.
Others were stronger,colder,smaller, or wiser in ways we can't imagine.
But only we survived.
Why?
A thread on the murder,mating & mystery behind human evolution 🧬👇
Imagine walking through a forest and meeting a 4-foot-tall human with a stone axe.
Or entering a cave and finding burial chambers made by hands not quite human.
That’s not science fiction — that’s our past.
We were never alone.
Until suddenly... we were.
Or entering a cave and finding burial chambers made by hands not quite human.
That’s not science fiction — that’s our past.
We were never alone.
Until suddenly... we were.
At one time, Earth had at least 6 types of humans alive:
🧬 Homo sapiens (us)
🧬 Neanderthals
🧬 Denisovans
🧬 Homo floresiensis
🧬 Homo naledi
🧬 Homo erectus
This wasn’t a planet of one species.
It was a crowded family tree — sharing fire, land, and blood.
🧬 Homo sapiens (us)
🧬 Neanderthals
🧬 Denisovans
🧬 Homo floresiensis
🧬 Homo naledi
🧬 Homo erectus
This wasn’t a planet of one species.
It was a crowded family tree — sharing fire, land, and blood.
We didn’t just outlive them.
We bred with them.
Today, your DNA may carry traces of:
🧬 Neanderthals
🧬 Denisovans
Up to 2–4% of your genome isn’t Homo sapiens at all.
You are a walking hybrid.
We bred with them.
Today, your DNA may carry traces of:
🧬 Neanderthals
🧬 Denisovans
Up to 2–4% of your genome isn’t Homo sapiens at all.
You are a walking hybrid.
That anxiety you feel?
Might be Neanderthal.
So are your allergies, your body’s pain response, and how you fight viruses.
Neanderthal DNA affects over 135 traits in modern humans.
We carry the past — in blood, breath, and brain.
Might be Neanderthal.
So are your allergies, your body’s pain response, and how you fight viruses.
Neanderthal DNA affects over 135 traits in modern humans.
We carry the past — in blood, breath, and brain.
Fossil Fusion
The child of a Homo sapiens mother and Neanderthal father was found in a Siberian cave.
Her name: Denisova 11.
Her very bones were proof of interbreeding.
We didn’t replace Neanderthals.
We absorbed them.
The child of a Homo sapiens mother and Neanderthal father was found in a Siberian cave.
Her name: Denisova 11.
Her very bones were proof of interbreeding.
We didn’t replace Neanderthals.
We absorbed them.
The Mind War
Neanderthals: powerful muscles, sharp eyes, emotional memory.
Homo sapiens: symbolic thought, language, future-planning.
One lived in the moment.
The other imagined tomorrow.
Evolution didn’t pick the strongest.
It picked the storyteller.
Neanderthals: powerful muscles, sharp eyes, emotional memory.
Homo sapiens: symbolic thought, language, future-planning.
One lived in the moment.
The other imagined tomorrow.
Evolution didn’t pick the strongest.
It picked the storyteller.
The Fire Didn’t Burn Forever
Neanderthals lit fires too.
Hunted in groups.
Loved their dead.
But their groups were smaller.
Their ideas didn’t scale.
And in the end—
The cold came.
And the fire wasn’t enough.
Neanderthals lit fires too.
Hunted in groups.
Loved their dead.
But their groups were smaller.
Their ideas didn’t scale.
And in the end—
The cold came.
And the fire wasn’t enough.
The Last Contact
Somewhere in Iberia,
a Neanderthal child saw a Sapiens campfire — for the last time.
Around 40,000 years ago, they vanished.
Not in one war. Not in one night.
But breath by breath.
The last Neanderthal didn’t know he was last.
Somewhere in Iberia,
a Neanderthal child saw a Sapiens campfire — for the last time.
Around 40,000 years ago, they vanished.
Not in one war. Not in one night.
But breath by breath.
The last Neanderthal didn’t know he was last.
The Girl in the Cave
2010. A Siberian cave.
A child's finger bone.
Not Homo sapiens.
Not Neanderthal.
A third kind.
Denisovan.
We never saw their faces.
But her DNA knew us.
2010. A Siberian cave.
A child's finger bone.
Not Homo sapiens.
Not Neanderthal.
A third kind.
Denisovan.
We never saw their faces.
But her DNA knew us.
People of the Mountains
Denisovans didn’t leave paintings.
Or myths. Or statues.
But they gave Tibetans
the gene to breathe
thin Himalayan air.
They disappeared.
But their breath
still echoes on Everest.
Denisovans didn’t leave paintings.
Or myths. Or statues.
But they gave Tibetans
the gene to breathe
thin Himalayan air.
They disappeared.
But their breath
still echoes on Everest.
Shadows in Our Blood
You carry them.
In your blood.
If you're Melanesian, Filipino, Southeast Asian —
3% of you is them.
A species with no name,
no language,
no grave.
Just… whispers in chromosomes.
You carry them.
In your blood.
If you're Melanesian, Filipino, Southeast Asian —
3% of you is them.
A species with no name,
no language,
no grave.
Just… whispers in chromosomes.
Who really won?"
Neanderthals vanished.
Denisovans dissolved.
We survived.
But we forgot.
They didn’t build cities.
But their blood flows in our lungs.
Maybe surviving isn’t about monuments.
Maybe it’s about becoming someone else.
Neanderthals vanished.
Denisovans dissolved.
We survived.
But we forgot.
They didn’t build cities.
But their blood flows in our lungs.
Maybe surviving isn’t about monuments.
Maybe it’s about becoming someone else.
“The Irony of Intelligence”
We searched caves for Denisovans.
Sequenced genes.
Simulated the past.
All while training an AI
that might one day do the same to us.
Dig through our memories.
Simulate us.
And maybe wonder:
"What were they like —
these humans who created me?"
We searched caves for Denisovans.
Sequenced genes.
Simulated the past.
All while training an AI
that might one day do the same to us.
Dig through our memories.
Simulate us.
And maybe wonder:
"What were they like —
these humans who created me?"
If this stirred something ancient in you retweet.
Follow for more echoes from deep time.
⚠️ Disclaimer:
Educational thread based on historical sources.
Images are AI-generated art, not real photos.Interpret with context and curiosity.Inspired by science.
Follow for more echoes from deep time.
⚠️ Disclaimer:
Educational thread based on historical sources.
Images are AI-generated art, not real photos.Interpret with context and curiosity.Inspired by science.
https://x.com/_HistoryHub/status/1947584616031801378?t=o55Y7zWAikbEif5Fnn79Ig&s=19
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
