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In Civilizaed world history/Sumerian Mesopotamia history: represent that the human realm existence consisted of two Parent Ancestors. They are first 1) Ape-Hominid to 2) Wise Sapiens Species. The paragon story of the species, must be stated in anthropic and parochial narrative. It cannot be presented as fictional myths.
Humans are "afraid" in the sense that they do not understand their power. Thus, we might over-react against perceived threats or be destroy through ignorance: "The wandering bands of storytelling Sapiens were the most important and most destructive force the animal kingdom had ever produced" [p 62]. Language probably (?) allowed sapiens to dominate and eliminate Neanderthals (and other human species) even though any given Neanderthal individual was stronger and smarter. Language and social organization made it easier for groups of sapiens to dominate Neanderthals via collective action. Aside: Read this fascinating paper on how groups facing extinction (i.e., competition from other groups) will cooperate at much higher levels than groups not facing existential threats. And here's a great description of why sapiens are tribal and how to overcome tribalism in the name of nation, tolerance, etc. Language allowed abstract thought, planning, story telling and deeper social relations, all of which drove forward the cognitive revolution and dominance of our species. Gossip made it easier to control bad behavior. The value of a "maximum anthropological unit" is based on the fact that "most people can neither intimately know, nor gossip effectively about, more than 150 human beings" [p 26].