Neanderthal: Also spelled Neandertal, is an extinct member of the Homo genus that is known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia. Neanderthals are either classified as a subspecies of humans (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) or as a separate species (Homo neanderthalensis). The first proto-Neanderthal traits appeared in Europe as early as 600,000ˉ350,000 years ago. Proto-Neanderthal traits are occasionally grouped to another phenetic ‘species’, Homo heidelbergensis, or a migrant form, Homo rhodesiensis. By 130,000 years ago, complete Neanderthal characteristics had appeared. These characteristics then disappeared in Asia by 50,000 +- years ago, and in Europe by 25,000 to 30,000 years ago.
Cain and AbelFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the first and second sons of Adam and Eve. For other uses, see Cain and Abel (disambiguation).
"Abel", "Cain", and "My Brother's Keeper" redirect here. For other uses, see Abel (disambiguation), Cain (disambiguation), and My Brother's Keeper (disambiguation).
Cain (right) and Abel (left), 19th century Bible illustrationIn the Hebrew Bible, Cain and Abel (Hebrew: קין ,הבל, Hevel, Qayin)[1] (Arabic: هابيل قابيل - Hābīl and Qābīl) are two sons of Adam and Eve. The Qur'an mentions the story, calling them the two sons of Adam (Arabic: إبني آدم) only,.[2]
In the Greek New Testament, Cain is referred to as εκ του πονηρου.[3] In at least one translation this is rendered "from the evil one",[4] while others have "of the evil one."[5] Some interpreters take this to mean that Cain was literally the son of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. A parallel idea can be found in Jewish tradition,[6] that the serpent (Hebrew nahash נחש) from the Garden of Eden was father to firstborn Cain.
In all versions, Cain is a crop farmer and his younger brother Abel is a shepherd.[7] Cain is portrayed as sinful, committing the first murder by killing his brother,[8] after God[9] has rejected his offerings of produce but accepted the animal sacrifices brought by Abel.[10]
The oldest known copy of the Biblical narration is from the 1st century Dead Sea Scrolls.[11][12] Cain and Abel also appear in a number of other texts,[13] and the story is the subject of various interpretations.[14] Abel, the first murder victim, is sometimes seen as the first martyr;[15] while Cain, the first murderer, is sometimes seen as an ancestor of evil.[16] A few scholars suggest the pericope may have been based on a Sumerian story representing the conflict between nomadic shepherds and settled farmers.[17] Others think that it may refer to the days in which agriculture began to replace the ways of the hunter-gatherer.[18] [19]
Allusions to Cain and Abel as an archetype of fratricide persist in numerous references and retellings, through medieval art and Shakespearean works up to present day fiction.