Early human nature

      First of all I'd like to mention I'm using a bit of creative licence with the title of this post, as it will not be concerned with early human species, but instead I'll be referring to anatomically modern humans from near the beginning of their existence. By explaining that I kind of invalidated the creative licence, didn't I? Anyway, when people think of "cavemen" (most didn't dwell in caves, but that's not really the point) they think of a brutish group of unintelligent beings barely beyond apes. This comforts us, as it reminds us of what we are not; we are not primal animals, we are civilised people. But is this really that comforting? Doesn't it imply that it is society, not humans, that have developed? What we come from is really what we are. Sure, in the last 200,000 years our brains have changed slightly and we've got a bit taller (well, not me, but you get my point) but really we are the same as we have always been. This terrifies us, as that means that if society crumbles we return to our beast nature. Doesn't it?
      It both does and doesn't. If society crumbles, yes, we revert to our instinctive actions in a generation or two, but no, that does not mean we become heartless killers. The truth is, it was long before modern humans that we were capable of love and compassion. We were also capable of murder and betrayal. These thing aren't new. We can both be civilised and animalistic, which is really where we fit.