Neanderthals, Racism, and the Patterns of 'Othering’

If I hadn’t studied sociology, I might have become a paleo-anthropologist. It’s been a long-standing interest of mine, and as some of you may know, I also love a good detective story. The history of Neanderthals ticks all those boxes. We still don’t fully understand why this human species completely disappeared from the earth when Homo sapiens moved into Europe.

The way Neanderthals have been portrayed in modern science and popular culture is also a striking example of how racism works. Initially they were depicted as ‘brutes’, inferior and less ‘worthy’ version of humans. This served to justify discrimination of Indigenous groups that were deemed ‘similar’ to them, such as Aboriginal Australians. Neanderthals began to receive more favourable scientific attention when DNA studies revealed similarities between them and people of European heritage. Scientific interest then shifted toward finding proof that they were, in fact, just ‘like us’ - meaning, the inhabitants of the Global North.

This pattern of how we approach difference extends far beyond our distant past. Someone is either ‘like us’ and therefore worthy of being treated with dignity, or they are ‘not like us’ and considered inferior, justifying violence and discrimination. This mindset has fuelled atrocities such as the transatlantic slave trade, the extermination of Indigenous peoples, the Holocaust, and the ongoing discrimination against Romani and Traveller communities.

This makes me reflect on our attitudes towards difference from the so-called 'default' ways of being human—traits often linked in the Global North to whiteness, heteronormativity, neurotypicality or being able-bodied. It also makes me think about the power dynamics that determine who is seen as ‘different’ and who as ‘one of us’ at any given time. And perhaps most importantly, why do we need someone to be ‘like us’ in order to acknowledge their right to be fully human?