How do you think "Aspies" fared in prehistorical times?

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When humanity was focused simply on trying to survive sabertooth tigers and harsh winters, how do you think neurodiverse folks survived? Any surivival advantages?

I'm thinking yes, because there are still a fair amount of neurodiverse people in the overall population.

I think about that too

Temple Grandin always said "it wasnt the guy who was social who invented the spear or the bow and arrow- it was the little autistic guy all alone!"

"In an ideal world the scientist should find a method to prevent the most severe forms of autism but allow the milder forms to survive. After all, the really social people did not invent the first stone spear. It was probably invented by an Aspie who chipped away at rocks while the other people socialized around the campfire. Without autism traits we might still be living in caves."

Thats the actual qoute from Temple Grandin

I love Temple's list of ideal jobs for Aspies.

In my case, it could've meant early death. At 6 y/o I tried to "unlock" the wall by sticking a matchbox car key in an electrical socket. Thank God it was the negative terminal. My mother promptly noticed what I was doing and stopped me.

I think it would depend on the aspie.
The good thing would be that we wouldn't rely on other people to give us jobs despite not ticking off their social box.
The possibly bad thing would be skill at making it on your own, a place to take shelter, hunting skills, knowing what is safe to eat (berries, roots etc), making tools. Aspies like me wouldn't die from taking risks, that's for sure, but we might not take enough chances to get food.

I thought Autism and Aspergers was pretty new. Like people didn't have it till less than 100 years ago. But I never got why it's so new of a thing. I thought since humans came into existence thousands of years ago. They're were always awkward people with social problems.

Autistics were excluded, just like now, they were sitting somewhere alone in the cold, the head going forward and backwards, hitting stones together, and one day, bang, fire appeared.

I imagine confident Aspies would have made outstanding hunters and even leaders. Sensory issues would have been very different back then too.

I am reading EO Wilsons "Social Conquest"; if we look to chimpanzees, most solitary males will likely get killed by competing bands, while solitary females are left alone, unless the have an infant, in which case the infant is eaten by the competing band.

I dont think many AS males would have made it to adulthood.

Probably fairly well if they had a useful skill---like being an especially excellent toolmaker who makes especially sharp blades with their tools.

If they had artistic skills, they were either made shaman, or played some "spiritual-religious" role. I would bet that many of the cave artists had Aspie/artistic traits.

One HAD to be an Aspie, as far as I'm concerned, if they were, somehow, able to create edible food out of wild grains. It took lots of trial and error to accomplish this. This probably was done by a person who had that grain, and sedentary life in general, as a "special interest." That person would have had that special "focus" which Aspie/autistics have today.

If this sort of scenario presented itself, they were probably exempt from the hunt.

Though...if they could hunt too----that would have been even better!

The modern dsy equivalent is bullying in school then.

Yes, in the chapter on tribalism. He makes the case that it is likely a genetic predisposition to form groups, just look at spectator sports.

Somehow I am missiing that trait. I do not form loyalties to groups, never have. I form intense loyalties to people.

Back to the topic, if ND were often wander solitarily, like I do, they would have a much greater chance of being killed by the competing bands.

There were no public schools. every one stayed with their family, tribe, or clan and and learned from them.
Everyone was a unique individual who was known from birth.
There was no concept of neurodiverse. Everyone did what they were capable of. Disabled people were cared for and loved.
No one had to go out into a world of strangers and fill out job applications and compete with other strangers for a right to earn a living and survive.

People did not get labeled wth Autism until the mid 20th century and Aspergers until the late 20th century. That does not mean it did not exist. Autism experts have named certain people from hundreds of years ago as having numerous autistic traits.