Ancestor Series: Steinheim
Homo heidelbergensis skull, dated to 250,000–350,000 BCE. Found near Steinheim an der Murr, Germany.
This individual lived with a slow-growing brain tumor. The tumor would potentially have caused chronic headaches, seizures, personality changes, and visual hallucinations while the individual was alive… or perhaps no symptoms at all. Still, it serves as a reminder that the story of human evolution is also the story of our relationship with chronic pain and mental illness.