Deep Roots of Violence and Disregard for Human Dignity in History

As we all know, wars and battles have always been an essential part of human communities. Today, examples can easily be found in Ukraine, Palestine, and Sudan.

That is why it was particularly interesting to come across a French study analyzing skeletons from northeastern France dating to around 4300–4150 BCE—that is, the remains of people who lived more than 6,000 years ago.

Many of the skeletons showed unhealed injuries as well as skeletal segments of severed left upper limbs. They were therefore most likely the result of excessive violence, mutilation, and/or trophy-taking associated with ancient warfare.

In their work, the researchers reported a multi-isotope reconstruction, based on the bones, of the life histories of individuals defined as “victims” and of other deceased individuals from the same region who had received customary funerary treatment. In total, 82 humans were analyzed, together with 53 animals and 35 modern plants to establish regional isotope baselines.

The results revealed statistically significant isotopic differences between the victims and the nonvictims, which were interpreted as showing that the victims had belonged to invading groups or tribes that were defeated in battles against the local population. They were then brutally killed and deposited in pits—together with trophies in the form of severed upper limbs.

The study thus demonstrated that, more than 6,000 years ago, after a battle had been decided, the victors celebrated their triumph with acts of violence and disregard for human dignity. And this practice has not disappeared even today, as examples of Russian war crimes in Ukraine and the atrocities of fighting groups in Sudan sadly show—not to mention the events of October 7, 2023 in Israel.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Dark Brown Ancestors
Football-Associated Violence Is a Personality Problem
Russian army not comparable to western military services

The Historical Merging of Human Groups

Understanding human evolution has progressed step by step during my lifetime. One of the most sensational discoveries was the evidence of interbreeding between Neanderthals, who lived in Europe before modern humans, and our ancestors.

Significant new information has once again been obtained on this matter. It was based on an excellent idea: previously, the focus had been on determining how much Neanderthal DNA is present in our genes, but now researchers decided to investigate how much so-called modern human DNA is present in Neanderthal genes.

This was possible using two criteria. The first was based on the fact that Neanderthals were already known to be much fewer in number than modern humans, so their genomes likely contained less variation. Thus, the more variable regions of the Neanderthal genome would be possible gene regions originating from modern humans.

When such gene regions were then found, the corresponding segments of heritage could be searched for in modern Africans, who have never interbred with Neanderthals. If they had similar genome segments to the now-found more variable regions, they must have developed in modern humans and not in Neanderthals. And indeed, this confirmed that as much as about ten percent of Neanderthal genes ultimately came from modern humans.

Based on this new information, it can also be concluded that Neanderthals may not have disappeared from the world after all but simply merged into the much more numerous populations of modern humans. And they left their genetic mark on them— a set of genes that developed in Neanderthals and have since been passed down to me and to all of you, dear readers, unless you are entirely of African descent.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
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Violent demographic changes in Denmark
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Violent demographic changes in Denmark

People are well aware that after Europeans discovered America, they displaced indigenous populations, especially in North America, within a few centuries. A similar development was seen in Australia and New Zealand.

These facts are sometimes referenced in discussions about the migration of people from developing countries to Europe, with claims that it will alter the entire demographic structure of the region.

On the other hand, this view is vehemently denied, especially within political leftist circles, and dismissed as a product of imagination. However, the fact remains that, for instance, in Sweden, the number of people arriving from developing countries has grown to such an extent that the government faces challenges in maintaining order in many residential areas.

In connection with this, it was interesting to read a study that investigated prehistoric changes in the population structure of Denmark. The study describes a genetic analysis conducted on ancient human remains spanning 7 300 years, including the Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Early Bronze Age.

The researchers used shotgun-sequenced genomes from 100 skeletons and integrated the genetic data with information on diet, mobility, and vegetation cover. As a result, they showed that Mesolithic individuals in Denmark formed a distinct genetic cluster related to other Western European hunter-gatherers and exhibited genetic homogeneity from around 10 500 to 5 900 years ago.

The arrival of Neolithic farmers with Anatolian-derived ancestry occurred around 5 900 years ago, causing a significant population turnover. This transition was abrupt, with limited genetic contribution from local hunter-gatherers, and therefore probably violent.

The Neolithic population associated with the Funnel Beaker culture persisted for approximately 1 000 years until immigrants with eastern Steppe-derived ancestry arrived, causing another rapid population replacement. This gave rise to the Single Grave culture, whose ancestry profile was more similar to present-day Danes.

Therefore, it is clear that population replacements in North America, Australia, or New Zealand are not unique in history. Rather, it seems that the influx of people to a particular region easily leads to the destruction of entire population groups. Hence, this alternative should not be dismissed with a mere shrug but rather taken into account when planning and implementing European immigration policies.

Previous thoughts on the same topic: Finnish women have enjoyed a privileged position since medieval times Attitudes towards immigrants are not becoming more positive in Western countries People with Middle Eastern and North African inheritance identify themselves as non-Whites

History of Finland I: How did Finland become culturally part of the West?

In 2022, I wrote a series of blog posts briefly describing the most important stages in Finland's history, mostly based on the writings of Professor Heikki Ylikangas. Today, I have decided to translate the entire story for my international readers as I assume this topic is not very familiar to almost anyone outside Finland. 

In this series you can expect a total of sixteen posts covering ancient history up to the 21st century, which I hope will increase understanding of my homeland in other parts of the world.

Hunter-gatherers populated Finland from various directions immediately after the end of the Ice Age. However, about 3 500 years ago, a strong population flow from Siberia altered the genes of the people living in Finland at that time.

The well-known early medieval Levänluhta people, with one exception, were ancestors of the Sámi people, who had spread over a much wider area than present-day Sápmi. On the other hand, ancient DNA has also been found in two other locations in southern Finland, but there it differs from the DNA of most present-day Finns, but has similarity to DNA of the Volga-Ural region.

The population of present-day Finland is roughly divided into two genetically separate groups along the border of the Treaty of Nöteborg that runs through the country from southeast to the northern west coast. Agriculture arrived in to Finland about 5 000-4 000 years before the beginning of the Common Era, but interestingly, medieval DNA is divided so that the forms associated with hunter-gatherers are common in southwestern and southern Finland, where agriculture has been most common according to the historical records. In the east and north, on the other hand, there are more gene forms associated with agriculture. This suggests that there were significant population movements in Finland during the medieval period - or perhaps the limited medieval samples available do not accurately represent the true relationships of these genes at prehistorical time.

Following Finland's early history, its subjugation to Swedish rule almost 1000 years ago set the course for the country's future and its population. According to Professor Heikki Ylikangas, this happened mostly voluntarily because the organization of Finnish society was not sufficient for military resistance, as in the Baltics, and enemies could be avoided simply by fleeing into endless forests.

An exception to this rule was the more densely populated region of Satakunta, South-Western coast of Finland. There the society was better organized and the prevalence of crop farming forced people to defend their property. As a result, Swedish settlements along the coast were thinner in Satakunta than in other parts of Finland.

With the arrival of the Swedes, Finland received a legal system and Christianity copied from the mother country, which in turn brought with it also the social organization. At this stage, the Catholic Church can be considered the most powerful force in the country, owning as much as 21 percent of the cultivated land in Sweden. In addition to the church, power was in the hands of the king and locally with powerful families.

Thus, Finland had become linked to the Western world. Its future was tied to Sweden's destiny for hundreds of years, for better or for worse.

The original blog post in Finnish: 
Suomen liittyminen osaksi läntistä kulttuuria

All the blog posts in this series:
History of Finland I: How did Finland become culturally part of the West?
History of Finland II: From a hinterland of the Union into a modern state
History of Finland III: The legal and economic weakening of the position of the people
History of Finland IV: The bleakest time in Finnish history
History of Finland V: The pursuit of economic profit saved the country
History of Finland VI: Age of freedom and utility
History of Finland VII: The dictator of the era of Enlightenment promoted capitalist economy
History of Finland VIII: Joining of Finland to Russia led to an increase in crime
History of Finland IX: Enlightended dictator initiated economic growth
History of Finland X: The birth of Finnish identity
History of Finland XI: Finnish democracy and gender equality for women
History of Finland XII: Bloody civil war
History of Finland XIII: The far-right's rebellion
History of Finland XIV: The end of the first Finnish Republic
History of Finland XV: Paasikivi-Kekkonen doctrine
History of Finland XVI: Through rise and fall to a new kind of future

Long distance trade

We often think that ancient people lived in separation with little contacts to humans living in other parts of the world. This view is, however, incorrect because trade has been more or less global for thousands of years.

I wrote in May about ivory trade between Greenland and what is today Ukraine in medieval times. And last week I noticed a new scientific investigation showing that a Late Bronze Age shipwreck - from 3 300 years ago - found off the Turkish coast carried tin ingots, of which one third was produced of ores from Central Asia, thousands of kilometers from shipwrecks location. 

The finding added evidence on a vast, disparate and culturally diverse network of trade that relied as much on the participation of small regional communities as on large, centralized states during the Late Bronze Age. And which formed a basis for the economic development that ultimately - during the following millenia - led to the current world based on global trade and cultural exchange forming the basis of the current way of living throughout the world.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
A new route for the Ukrainian crops
Ivory trade from Greenland to Ukraine
Vikings and the technological cutting edge

Human curiosity altered an orbit of an asteroid

I am sure that all of my readers are aware of the cause of the end of the dinosaur era. It was caused 66 million years ago by a massive asteroid 10 to 15 km wide, which devastated the global environment, mainly through a lingering impact winter which halted photosynthesis in plants and plankton.

If a similar asteroid would land on earth, it would mean the end of human civilization, if not even the presence of humans on the planet. Therefore it has been considered as one of the most frightening threats to our future.

Two weeks ago NASA succeeded in altering an orbit of an asteroid using a spacecraft. The achievement showed that  humans could redirect future celestial threats to our planet, and allows us to forget about the threat caused by uninvited asteroids.

The physics and technology allowing the NASA achievement should also be considered as evidence on the importance of curiosity driven science. Without our will to find and learn about the true nature of stars, space and planets, we would have never heard about the possibility to alter orbits of asteroids. 

And actually, we would not even know that asteroids existed - nor that one of those would have been responsible on the disappearance of dinosaurs. And well, without human curiosity we would not even know that dinosaurs lived more than 60 million years ago. 

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Scientific community discriminates its youngsters
Should forbidden questions be answered or not?
Vikings and the technological cutting edge