--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The emerging and vital truth isn’t who is…" description: "\"“The emerging and vital truth isn’t who is more Neanderthal than whom. It’s that all peoples, everywhere, enjoyed archaic human lovers whenever they co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fee/sam-kean-10876_human-love_the-emerging-and-vital-truth-isn-t-who-i_3170125.png" --- # The emerging and vital truth isn’t who is more Neanderthal… ![“The emerging and vital truth isn’t who is more Neanderthal than whom. It’s that all peoples, everywhere, enjoyed archaic human lovers whenever they could. These DNA memories are buried deeper inside us than even our ids, and they remind us that the grand saga of how humans spread across the globe…” quote by Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fee/sam-kean-10876_human-love_the-emerging-and-vital-truth-isn-t-who-i_3170125.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fee/sam-kean-10876_human-love_the-emerging-and-vital-truth-isn-t-who-i_3170125.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fee/sam-kean-10876_human-love_the-emerging-and-vital-truth-isn-t-who-i_3170125.png) > ““The emerging and vital truth isn’t who is more Neanderthal than whom. It’s that all peoples, everywhere, enjoyed archaic human lovers whenever they could. These DNA memories are buried deeper inside us than even our ids, and they remind us that the grand saga of how humans spread across the globe will need some personal, private, all-too-human amendments and annotations—rendezvous here, elopements there, and the commingling of genes most everywhere.”” [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human history is shaped by deep, shared genetic drives that influence love and migration. **In simple terms:** We all carry ancient love impulses. Key Takeaway Acknowledge our shared biological heritage. Themes evolution love migration genetics culture Mood curious analytical Type scientific reflective When to use this quote - relationship counseling - cultural studies - genealogy - anthropology - global history Key Concepts genetic memory anthropology social behavior Questions to Reflect On - How do genetic impulses interact with cultural norms? - Can we honor both biology and individuality? A Different Perspective Focusing on genetics can oversimplify cultural complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-love/) [Neanderthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neanderthal/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“A geneticist is a geek who claims to have proven through regression analyses that a Neanderthal had sex with your great-grandmother 50,000 years ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gaede/a-geneticist-is-a-geek-who-claims-to-have-proven-through-regression/) [Bill Gaede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gaede/) > [Neanderthal age of biology and the convenience of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/neanderthal-age-of-biology-and-the-convenience-of-man/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [“I didn’t know which was worse: to be killed by some brute animal or be taken off with a wild Neanderthal on horseback.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-carey/i-didn-t-know-which-was-worse-to-be-killed-by-some-brute-animal-or-be/) [Anna Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-carey/) > [I BET WHEN NEANDERTHAL KIDS would make a snowman, someone would always end up saying, "Don't forget the thick heavy brows." Then they would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/i-bet-when-neanderthal-kids-would-make-a-snowman-someone-would-always/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“A pleasure meeting you, too, Mr. Lucklighter. Next time, try to speak English. I'm afraid my Neanderthal is a little rusty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eden-winters/a-pleasure-meeting-you-too-mr-lucklighter-next-time-try-to-speak/) [Eden Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eden-winters/) > [Neanderthal man listened to stories, if one may judge by the shape of his skull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/neanderthal-man-listened-to-stories-if-one-may-judge-by-the-shape-of/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Faced with the challenge of an endless universe, Man will be forced to mature further, just as the Neanderthal-faced with an entire planet-had no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/faced-with-the-challenge-of-an-endless-universe-man-will-be-forced-to/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“I didn’t like how my body seemed to be intent on sabotaging my brain, especially since my brain was so good at sabotaging itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-reid/i-didn-t-like-how-my-body-seemed-to-be-intent-on-sabotaging-my-brain/) [Penny Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-reid/) > [Literature was not born the day when a boy crying "wolf, wolf" came running out of the Neanderthal valley with a big gray wolf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/literature-was-not-born-the-day-when-a-boy-crying-wolf-wolf-came/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“What keeps the world from reverting to the Neanderthal with each generation is the continuing, ongoing mythos... the huge body of common knowledge that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/what-keeps-the-world-from-reverting-to-the-neanderthal-with-each/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“Elizabeth called it my mane of hair; I called it my bane of hair. However, it was far worse looking when it was short,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-reid/elizabeth-called-it-my-mane-of-hair-i-called-it-my-bane-of-hair/) [Penny Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-reid/) > [It seems that the Neanderthal DNA that modern Europeans and Asians (and also Native Americans and basically all non-African people) are carrying around is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/it-seems-that-the-neanderthal-dna-that-modern-europeans-and-asians/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“It was said that similar tribes lived farther to the west of Pariha. One of their biggest and most ancient settlements was a land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amish-tripathi/it-was-said-that-similar-tribes-lived-farther-to-the-west-of-pariha/) [Amish Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amish-tripathi/) > [“I suggest that the type of consciousness – not merely the degree of intelligence – that Neanderthals possessed was different in important respects from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-david-lewis-williams/i-suggest-that-the-type-of-consciousness-not-merely-the-degree-of/) [James David Lewis-Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-david-lewis-williams/) > [Asian Homo erectus died without issue and does not enter our immediate ancestry (for we evolved from African populations); Neanderthal people were collateral cousins,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/asian-homo-erectus-died-without-issue-and-does-not-enter-our/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## More by Sam Kean > [“So while Pauling struggled with his model, Watson and Crick turned theirs inside out, so the negative phosphorus ions wouldn’t touch. This gave them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/so-while-pauling-struggled-with-his-model-watson-and-crick-turned/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [So if big enough droplets fell far enough fast enough, someone floating right near the metallic hydrogen layer inside Jupiter maybe, just maybe, could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/so-if-big-enough-droplets-fell-far-enough-fast-enough-someone/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [Mendeleev, unlike the squeamish Meyer, had balls enough to predict that new elements would be dug up. Look harder, you chemists and geologists, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/mendeleev-unlike-the-squeamish-meyer-had-balls-enough-to-predict-that/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [“Lithium regulates the proteins that control the body’s inner clock. This clock runs, oddly, on DNA, inside special neurons deep in the brain. Special…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/lithium-regulates-the-proteins-that-control-the-body-s-inner-clock/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [“Despite the earnest belief of most of his fans, Einstein did not win his Nobel Prize for the theory of relativity, special or general.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/despite-the-earnest-belief-of-most-of-his-fans-einstein-did-not-win/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [“The irony is too rich not to point out. When arranging the different human races in tiers, from just below the angels to just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/the-irony-is-too-rich-not-to-point-out-when-arranging-the-different/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [“Think of the most fussy science teacher you ever had. The one who docked your grade if the sixth decimal place in your answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/think-of-the-most-fussy-science-teacher-you-ever-had-the-one-who/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [“For his part, Mendeleev scanned Lecoq de Boisbaudran’s data on gallium and told the experimentalist, with no justification, that he must have measured something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/for-his-part-mendeleev-scanned-lecoq-de-boisbaudran-s-data-on-gallium/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [“Sir Isaac Newton famously said that he had achieved everything by standing on the shoulders of giants—the scientific men whose findings he built upon.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/sir-isaac-newton-famously-said-that-he-had-achieved-everything-by/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [“If certain bacteria, fungi, or algae inch across something made of copper, they absorb copper atoms, which disrupt their metabolism (human cells are unaffected).…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/if-certain-bacteria-fungi-or-algae-inch-across-something-made-of/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [“Scarily, cadmium is not even the worst poison among the elements. It sits above mercury, a neurotoxin. And to the right of mercury sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/scarily-cadmium-is-not-even-the-worst-poison-among-the-elements-it/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [“Somehow, though, life turned that danger around, and this former poison became essential. It may sound trite, but this reversal always reminds me of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/somehow-though-life-turned-that-danger-around-and-this-former-poison/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [“Since before even the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians, human beings used the stars and seasons to track time and record their most important moments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/since-before-even-the-ancient-egyptians-and-babylonians-human-beings/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [“Today alpha equals 1/137.0359 or so. Regardless, its value makes the periodic table possible. It allows atoms to exist and also allows them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/today-alpha-equals-1-137-0359-or-so-regardless-its-value-makes-the/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [“Furthermore, because silicon packs on more protons than carbon, it's bulkier, like carbon with fifty extra pounds. Sometimes that's not a big deal. Silicon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/furthermore-because-silicon-packs-on-more-protons-than-carbon-it-s/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) [Explore all 58 Sam Kean quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) ## More Human love quotes > [“The story ends. It was written for several reasons. Nine of them are secrets. The tenth is that one should never cease considering human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-barthelme/the-story-ends-it-was-written-for-several-reasons-nine-of-them-are/) [Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/) > [“We may give our human loves the unconditional allegiance which we owe only to God. Then they become gods: then they become demons. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/we-may-give-our-human-loves-the-unconditional-allegiance-which-we-owe/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [If your love didn't always contain the possibility of loss, it would be very different from human love as we know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/if-your-love-didn-t-always-contain-the-possibility-of-loss-it-would/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [I like grit, I like love and death, I'm tired of irony. ... A lot of good fiction is sentimental. ... The novelist who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harrison/i-like-grit-i-like-love-and-death-i-m-tired-of-irony-a-lot-of-good/) [Jim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harrison/) > [It costs so much to be a full human being that there are very few who have the Love and the courage to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/it-costs-so-much-to-be-a-full-human-being-that-there-are-very-few-who/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [The difference between tragedy and comedy is the difference between experience and intuition. In the experience we strive against every condition of our animal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/the-difference-between-tragedy-and-comedy-is-the-difference-between/) [Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/) > [“The soul grows through: 1 Humility and self-responsibility, your desire to totally and completely feel all your emotions, and to make it no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padma-aon-prakasha/the-soul-grows-through-1-humility-and-self-responsibility-your-desire/) [Padma Aon Prakasha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padma-aon-prakasha/) > [“Without her, there wouldn't be a me any more. I'm human because I love her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-bradley-rede/without-her-there-wouldn-t-be-a-me-any-more-i-m-human-because-i-love/) [Laura Bradley Rede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-bradley-rede/) > [The more healthy relationships a child has, the more likely he will be to recover from trauma and thrive. Relationships are the agents of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-d-perry/the-more-healthy-relationships-a-child-has-the-more-likely-he-will-be/) [Bruce D. Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-d-perry/) > [Cupid is anything but cute. As for handing our hearts, he’s more likely to rip them out. (Julian) But he can make people fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/cupid-is-anything-but-cute-as-for-handing-our-hearts-he-s-more-likely/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [You can love a person dear to you with a human love, but an enemy can only be loved with divine love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/you-can-love-a-person-dear-to-you-with-a-human-love-but-an-enemy-can/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“In humans (and humans alone), sexuality is embodied in desire--in the primordial desire for life-as-relation. That the sex drive serves the vital desire for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christos-yannaras/in-humans-and-humans-alone-sexuality-is-embodied-in-desire-in-the/) [Christos Yannaras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christos-yannaras/) > [I will love you if you are stupid, if you slip and fall on your face, if you do the wrong thing, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/i-will-love-you-if-you-are-stupid-if-you-slip-and-fall-on-your-face/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [Human love is needing the other one. Divine love is giving to the other one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-levenson/human-love-is-needing-the-other-one-divine-love-is-giving-to-the/) [Lester Levenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-levenson/) > [“The limbic connectedness of a working psychotherapy requires uncommon courage. A patient asks to surrender the life he knows and to enter and emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/the-limbic-connectedness-of-a-working-psychotherapy-requires-uncommon/) [Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/) [Browse all 243 Human love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-love/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The emerging and vital truth isn’t who is more Neanderthal than whom. It’s that all peoples, everywhere, enjoyed archaic human lovers whenever they could. These DNA memories are buried deeper inside us than even our ids, and they remind us that the grand saga of how humans spread across the globe will need some personal, private, all-too-human amendments and annotations—rendezvous here, elopements there, and the commingling of genes most everywhere.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sam Kean" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/the-emerging-and-vital-truth-isn-t-who-is-more-neanderthal-than-whom/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Human love" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/the-emerging-and-vital-truth-isn-t-who-is-more-neanderthal-than-whom/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fee/sam-kean-10876_human-love_the-emerging-and-vital-truth-isn-t-who-i_3170125.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fee/sam-kean-10876_human-love_the-emerging-and-vital-truth-isn-t-who-i_3170125.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fee/sam-kean-10876_human-love_the-emerging-and-vital-truth-isn-t-who-i_3170125.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The emerging and vital truth isn’t who is more Neanderthal than whom. It’s that all peoples, everywhere…” — Sam Kean", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sam Kean", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The emerging and vital truth isn’t...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/the-emerging-and-vital-truth-isn-t-who-is-more-neanderthal-than-whom/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/the-emerging-and-vital-truth-isn-t-who-is-more-neanderthal-than-whom/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```