Not so long ago, there was a very popular article promoting the idea that most of the medieval fairy tales date all the way to the Bronze age. This idea is plausible and hardly surprising. Some religious and mythological ideas must have survived for tens of thousands of years.
Venus figurines are good examples. The oldest one, the Venus of Hohle Fels dates to some 40,000 years BC. And yet, similar figurines survived to the late Neolithic period and even the Bronze age. The same goes for Paleolithic flutes. Again in the case of Hohle Fels, we see the oldest example of the Pentatonic scale (!) Let’s not forget also a lion-man of the Hohlenstein-Stadel (40,000 BC) and bull-headed figure of the Chauvet cave. These strange hybrids continued to appear throughout the world’s mythology and may have even been the prototypes for the first Zodiac.
These are just some examples. And they illustrate that we can be pretty sure that for the last 50,000 years, people shared more than just the basic survival skillset. It came with a whole set of traditions and religious beliefs.
In this case, we can ask ourselves – If we know that Paleolithic people coexisted with the Neanderthals for thousands of years, can we perhaps see some memories of them in our ancient mythology?
Namely, precisely in this period – around 40,000 BC, humans, and Neandertals had coexisted in Northern Europe. Until recently, scholars assumed that this period lasted for some 5,000 years, after which Neanderthals went extinct.
However, the recent archaeological findings of Neanderthals in Gibraltar have proved this theory wrong. In this part of the world, a small group of Neanderthals had survived until 22,000 BC. This simply means that even though in very small numbers, Neanderthals lived amongst humans for at least 20,000 years! I guess that living with other, different humanoid beings for such a long period would leave a huge imprint in human consciousness, resulting in stories and myths of which some may have even survived to our days?
Trolls and Neanderthals
In Norse mythology, Trolls were creatures who lived in isolated caves or mountains. They lived in small groups and avoided humans. Later myths describe them as dangerous to humans. Their descriptions vary. Sometimes they were ugly and not too intelligent. At other times they acted like humans looked quite normal.
Interestingly, a grotesque appearance of a troll matches very closely the appearance of a Neanderthal, as described by modern science:
“Neanderthals had a more robust build than humans and distinctive cranium. Other features include shorter limbs, a wider, barrel-shaped rib cage, a reduced chin. They also had a large nose, much larger in both length and width, and started somewhat higher on the face.“
Moreover, the body of Neanderthals was built to endure a colder climate. This is why their last stand was in Northern Europe, not far from the region where the myths of Trolls originated. As for their extinction, one theory states that humans exterminated them in territorial warfare, or they simply had no resistance to African pathogens that came with modern humans.
The myth of Changelings
Another theory suggests that Neanderthals had disappeared in the process of interbreeding with modern humans. The truth is probably somewhere in between. But in the case of the second theory, we have to look back to Norse mythology, and the story of Changelings.
According to Wikipedia:
“A changeling was a fairy child, left in place of a human child, stolen by the fairies. One belief is that trolls thought that it was more respectable to be raised by humans. Beauty in human children and young women, particularly blond hair, attracted the fairies.”
As for the more violent encounters between humans and trolls, one should not look further than the famous epic of Beowulf. Are these just pure mythological tales, or do they date to the Paleolithic and human memory of Neanderthals?
Giants and neanderthals
The second suspect would be Giants. This is a much more common motif that appears in virtually all cultures. It is beyond the reach of this short article to illustrate all interesting examples. It is also likely that not all of the Giant myths relate to Neanderthals. Even the appearance of the Norseman in the middle ages would be “gigantic” to other nations. But it is also a fact that the Norse themselves had myths of the giants, the so-called Jötunn, who are closely related to Trolls.
Anyhow, it is a fact the Neanderthals were not so much taller than humans. But they were indeed way stronger and of more robust body shape. The enormous height may have been a more recent contribution to the story, long after they went extinct.
Giants, just like the Trolls, (and what we know of the last Neanderthals), usually lived in remote places and caves. In Slavic languages, the word for giant is “div”. The word for wilderness is “divljina” which would mean “the realm of the giants”. Numerous Slavic myths tell of the heroes who went on a quest to kill a giant. There is a similar analogy between the word “jungle” and “giant” or “gin” from Arabic sources.
We should not forget that even the Bible mentions the giants interbreeding with humans in the book of Genesis:
“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” Genesis 6:4
Chronicle of the early Britons
However, the most interesting example for me comes from the Chronicle of the early Britons, written in the 12th century. It was when I was reading this particular text that I first got the idea that giants could be related to Neanderthals.
In brief, Brutus, the founder of Britain, asks the goddess Diana for advice on which land to settle with his warriors. She appears in a dream and tells him the following:
“Beneath the setting of the sun, beyond the land of Gaul, there lies an island in the sea in which giants once lived. It is empty now. Go there, for it is set aside for you and your descendants..."
However, upon their arrival to Britain, they realize that there are still very small groups of giants, scattered in caves. One night these giants attacked them. Corineus, one of the most prized warriors, decides to take the part of the island where they were present in the largest number – modern Cornwall. This is the abridged account of that episode:
“Corineus named that part of the island Cornwall. He chose it because therein dwelt the giants, which he loved to fight more than anything. Amongst those giants, there was a mighty Gawr Madoc. His was twelve cubits high and could pluck the larges oak from its roots, as easily as if he were plucking a sprig of hazel… Corineus challenged the giant to wrestle him. The giant hugged Corineus with all his strength, breaking three of his ribs… Corineus summoned his might and lifted him to shoulder height, throwing him over the cliff into the sea, dashing him into a thousand pieces. And from that day the place is called The Giant’s Leap, or Gawr Madoc’s Jump.”
The full text of the chronicle is here.
According to this chronicle, the events took place after the Troyan war, so roughly around the first millennium BC. It was highly unlikely that the Neanderthals were still present in Europe. However, the same chronicle, (as the all medieval chronicles), also mentions the flood, which could have only happened at the end of the Ice age. Could it be that some really ancient stories were incorporated in the stories of a later date?
Basajaun and neanderthals
Another great example is the Basajaun of Basque mythology. Their name means “wild lords” or “lords of the forest”. Thee myths see them as the first inhabitants of the Basque area, and perhaps the megalith builders. They knew the secrets of architecture, agriculture, ironwork, and sedentary life. Very similar to the Pan of the Greeks, (whose name also means “lord” in Slavic) they were protectors of the flocks. When the wolves were near, they shouted and whistled to warn the shepherds. Sometimes encounters with them were pleasant but sometimes they weren’t. In the end, they were at war with humans – and they lost.
Basajaun, Wikipedia commons
In Aragon, their name was Bosnerau, a name that sounds similar to Bosnia (Bosna), a word that hasn’t been etymologically explained so far. One of the current theories is relating it to the Thracian tribe of Besi, who in turn may have gotten their name from Bes – a Neanderthal-like creature of the Slavic mythology. See my article Bes, Egyptian god that is not Egyptian. The name of the Slavic demon, Bes, means “angry”, “wild”, and the translation of “wild-ling” would be more than appropriate.
In any case, we saw that Gibraltar was the last refuge of the Neanderthals in Europe. When the glaciers had melted and Britain and Scandinavia separated from the rest of Europe, would it be unreasonable to imagine that a small group of Neanderthals survived for some time longer… and that this period of coexistence was never really forgotten?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanara
There is definately a great deal to find out about this issue.
I like all the points you’ve made.
It’s been said that Cro-Magnons, the first Modern Europeans were about 5’9″ tall and robustly built, living on the flesh of large animals. When the Holocene began, vegetation flourished and many humans gathered more as they gradually cultivated crops. They also lived off smaller game as large game moved north with the steppe and tundra or died out. The nutritional value of their diets actually resulted in shorter heights — men averaged 5’2″ — slighter bodies, lighter skins because of lack of Vitamin D, and tooth decay from grinding grain in their mouths. The change in size may have been noticed, hence the giants ; and the days of gathering before actual farming may have given birth to The Garden of Eden concept.
I believe that all human folklore and fairytales are garbled recollections of our coexistence with Neanderthal and possibly other human species. Ancient stories and fantasy itself, though embellished by human creativity, do not come from no where. They are present in all human cultures, in our deepest memories. Yet there are so many stories of our mysterious contemporaries never told.
I wonder if you might explore the sirtya, a people that the nenet say lived in Siberia well before they did. They seem to have ties to the myth of fairies, being beautiful and gifted artistically.
We have this in Romanian folklore also, it’s called zmeu: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zmeu
Pleased to have read these comments, I have noticed the connection with stories of old gods in the mythology of Ireland and Grease and the history of Neandertal people. Just about to read Norse mythology where I expect to see the same connection.
Very interesting. A short note. The word for god in Irish is Dia. It is pronounced anglo-phonetically as Gee-Ah. My mother was a born native Irish speaker who learned English in school. She always pronounced words that began w/’D’ as a ‘G’ or ‘J'(gee or jay). So in that way, the Gia in Giant relates to the Irish/Gaelic word for ‘god’. Just saying.
I have been almost positive of a connection between Neanderthals and Giants for some time now. I’m convinced that Neanderthals were either a subspecies of dwarf giants, or perhaps of the same breed and we have only been allowed to see the remains of dwarfs. That would explain the elongated torso and short limbs which are usually characteristic of dwarf species. According to “The Ancient Giants Who Ruled America”, it has been policy of the Smithsonian Institution to suppress evidence of the existence of historical giants for over 120 years.
I’m thinking Neanderthals would have been a dwarf subspecies of the same giants which would have been the Atlantean kings, which according to Sanchoniathon would have been the Phoenician gods, who were obviously the progenitors of a great many bloodlines throughout the Mediterranean, and elsewhere. I am kind of inclined to think that the Titans would have been a big savage race of giants, a precursor to their more humane progeny, the gods, which still would have been very large, but still a precursor to Neanderthals. The mythology surrounding titans and gods indicates that there was a genealogical divergence and a resulting war for supremacy between the resulting subspecies(?) as seen in the Titanomachy, and the Gigantomachy could be an extension of this. What if the story about Zeus destroying and recreating the world was rooted in truth and the Atlantean kings used weapons of mass destructions in their war against Europe and Asia?
Another hint to Giant Neanderthalism in modern times could be seen in the trend of people with Aspergers being taller/larger overall than their siblings. I believe Aspergers is a greater-than-average expression of Neanderthal heritage among humans. There is a very high rate of occurrence of Morton’s toe, aka the “Greek foot”, among those with Aspergers, which to my knowledge is a feature found in all Neanderthal specimens. There is also a high rate of occurrence of the occipital bun, which again is a Neanderthal feature; as well as certain neuro-divergencies, some/most of which likely would have been conducive to the survival and social structure of Neanderthals in prehistoric Europe. (Examples may be found relatively easily in various aspergers discussion groups)
This one is a bit of a stretch but fun to think about: I read that over 90% of the Ainu people of Japan have the Morton’s toe, so I believe they must have a greater-than-average amount of Neanderthal heritage. Their mouth tattoos are said to resemble clown paint, and I have read that the idea of the concept of the ‘clown’ itself originates in some kind of caricature of the Nephilim. I believe Neanderthals/Giants/Nephilim/Rephaim would have been the earliest seafaring people, which would explain the stories of the large red haired tribe of giant ‘cannibals’ known as the Si-Te-Cah among other things. Of course they wouldn’t be cannibalizing themselves, but rather the neighboring tribes of smaller Asiatic humans, which would be in line with certain tales of Trolls eating people. Then there is the fact that “indigenous” Americans were a mix of Asiatic and something else, some have said European, and they do all possess Neanderthal DNA to a higher degree than other Asiatic hybrids. Then there’s the phenomenon of certain tribes having a very high rate of occurrence of polydactyly (six fingers/toes), iirc it was like 3.6% of the population of Pueblo indians. I personally think the theory that they crossed a land bridge and traversed glaciers and vast sheets of ice, rather than island-hopping with their advanced navigational technology which we know their descendants had, is absurd and only there to serve certain agendas.
Another modern-ish connection between Phoenicians/Canaanites and giants is in the bible, where the Amorite king Og is clearly a very large man, of a large race of men which dwelt in the Levant. And then there’s Cyclopean masonry… and more… I need to start writing this sht down lol. I am clearly far from having any organized theory, but it’s fun to think about and writing this out helped me organize my thoughts on the matter a bit.
If you got this far: Thanks for reading and apologies for the scatter-brained formatting. I went back and added and deleted some things at the end and am not sure how coherent it all will be, but I hope I have enlightened someone to some interesting patterns worthy of further investigation.
Cro Magnons and Neanderthals and giants may have something to do with Atlanteans. They grew smaller and after cataclysms they fell back to barbarism. They are called rakshasas and daityas in hinduism and divs (devils) in the Persian Shahnameh. Kind regards
“What if the story about Zeus destroying and recreating the world was rooted in truth and the Atlantean kings used weapons of mass destructions in their war against Europe and Asia?” This wasn’t meant to be taken very seriously by the way (I guess none of it is), more just pointing out that certain myths could be describing the use of technology far more advanced than what our ancient post-cataclysm ancestors would have been able to imagine
Maybe there is a connection between titans versus olympians, asuras versus devas, asir versus wanir and igigi versus anunnaki. Great gods went down to become men to enlighten mankind. The gods taught men the arts, the sciences, the ancient tell. It’s a mystery. Many cultures speak of different ages, continents and races of men. The book of the Hopi tells about these epochs and that they came originally from the west (!) Ovidius and Hesiodus speak of men of the golden age, silver age, bronze age, age of heroes and iron age. The world exists of 5 layers, we are living in the Quartenary, the fifth layer. Indians of America spoke of climbing from one world with a ladder to the next, because next layer or world is on top of the previous one! The Aztec speak of 5 worlds too, the forth went down in water, they call that one the sun of water. Theosophy tells of 5 rootraces and the atlantean was the fourth, that is the race of neanderthals and cro magnons. The fifth rootrace was called the arian or indo european. I guess it is the homo sapiens sapiens, not from Africa but Central Asia. Then the indo europeans spread. That is what I can tell. I would say the story about titans or fallen angels occurred during the bronze age or Lemurian age, the third sun of the Aztecs, that is before the atlanteans. Mythology or history? Kind regards from Holland