No one really expects the history of real estate to extend as far back as our Neanderthal cousins, but scientific evidence is showing that it does.
Science is putting to bed the long held and commonly touted notion that Neanderthals were unsophisticated and untidy. After roaming Euroasia for over 200,000 years, it makes sense that they would develop some spatial intelligence and organization.
In fact, recent findings suggest that they kept a tidy home.
“During excavations at a cave in Italy where a group of our closest known extinct relatives once lived, scientists say they found a strategically placed hearth and separate spaces for butchering and tool-making,” according to a Live Science article.
“The more we learn about history the more we discover how connected we all are and how similar our behaviors have been,” said Regan McGee, founder and CEO of Nobul, a disruptive real estate technology company.
Other findings over the years show that Neanderthals buried their dead, used fire, made tools and possibly wore feathers.
They organized living spaces in logical fashion: the tool making area was stationed away from the living area, because as the scientists noted, working with stone to make tools meant that there would be injury-causing debris around. The hearth was situated so as to warm the entire space, similarly to how humans have long positioned fireplaces when they function as the sole source of warmth.
“The new findings add to that growing list of intelligent behaviors similar to those of humans,” according to the article.
With all that in mind, it should be no surprise that they would also value a good, secure home.
“Historians do verify that there could have been a sort of currency exchange among ancient peoples for shelter,” according to Sherman Bridge Lending.
In other words, Neanderthals valued a home to the point that some likely either rented or purchased spaces to call their own in defensible areas.
While the scientific debate remains as to whether or not Neanderthals and humans bred during their shared time on earth, before Neanderthals became extinct 30,000 years ago remains a fascinating question.
But it is an undeniable fact that there are shared behaviors and values.
“This is ongoing work, but the big picture… is that we have one more example that Neanderthals used some kind of logic for organizing their living sites,” study researcher Julien Riel-Salvatore, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado Denver, said in a statement.
Evidence is suggesting they are more sophisticated than many initially thought.
“If we are going to identify modern human behavior on the basis of organized spatial patterns, then you have to extend it to Neanderthals as well,” he added.
The evolution of real estate, the driving need for humans to find places to feel safe and build their lives, families and memories is something that pervades all of history and humanity. The evolution of finding those homes has continued and now is happening at breakneck speeds, noted Regan McGee.
Development and marketing of real estate became popular and even somewhat common during the Middle Ages. It became a way to ensure assets and a symbol of wealth – so it flourished. When European colonists headed America, they brought the concept with them.
“Mixed with the opportunities of a New World, and the foundation of a free-market system, the seeds were planted for American entrepreneurs to turn the industry into a money-making machine,” according to the blog.
Before long, real estate agents were baking cookies and hosting open houses. By the 1990s real estate started to be listed online.
“And the evolution continues,” said McGee. “Now we have drones that provide a birds-eye view of properties for a fraction of the cost of previous technology. We have virtual tools and we are changing the industry to make it more buyer/seller friendly. Thanks to the availability of online research, people are able to be more educated about what they want, which makes the process all the more easier for everyone involved.”
From human to Neanderthal, having a home has always been valuable. Now, people can find their homes oceans away, without ever stepping foot on the property before purchasing.
“How great this age of technology where, as promised, everything occurs at the speed of life. Okay, many things. However, evolution appears to be happening exponentially because of world interconnectivity,” Writer, Speaker and Trainer Rossi told Realty Times.
Imagine just how far humanity has come.
