Neanderthals and Atlantis – Rudolph Steiner and the New Prehistory

Andrew Welburn is the author of a series of books that bridge academic and spiritual perspectives, notably through incorporating the work of Rudolf Steiner. This is a magisterial study of the topic of prehistory and human origins drawing both on Steiner and evidence from palaeontology, in particular, the work of Richard Leakey, Steven Mithen and David Lewis Williams (The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art, showing early mystical-shamanic roots). This new thinking rebuts the linear account of Darwin by highlighting a dual ancestry with a hugely significant contribution from the Neanderthals. This corresponds to Steiner’s theory of two human types of species, also involving the formation and disintegration of continents (Lemuria and Atlantis as different phases of development).

The author argues that we are due a major reorientation in our thinking – Neanderthals ‘have been shown to have been more intelligent, socially complex, and technically advanced than previously thought.’ (p. 3) Human emergence is recontextualised as an evolution of consciousness, and Neanderthals can no longer be regarded as crude forerunners or poor cousins of homo sapiens. In fact, they had larger brains than modern humans – see p. 163 – and music played an important part in their culture. There was a sudden explosion of culture in the Upper Palaeolithic Age with a new influx from Africa, leading to an interbreeding of the two types. The arguments are presented in great detail, making a very strong case for the overall argument, which has not really reached the public sphere.