Knuckle-dragging, bare-chested, monosyllabic men who once had to rely on violence and brute strength to get by arent as stupid as we think at least judging by the news that ex-cage fighter Alex ‘Mr Katie Price’ Reid is to try his hand at acting, in a new BBC historical costume drama called 200BC.
Oh, and cavemen were quite clever too it seems. Reids role is going to be as a prehistoric intellectual in the show, which will be based on growing evidence that Homo sapiens actually lived relatively sophisticated lives, contrary to our idea of them as club-wielding simpletons little brighter than primates.
Just last month, archaeologists in South Africa announced that they have unearthed a cache of ostrich eggs dating back 60,000 years and etched with intricate geometric designs proof that Homo sapiens were capable of symbolic thinking 20,000 years earlier than previously believed.
Last year, it was revealed by archaeologists in North Africa that stashes of symbolic jewellery dating back 82,000 years had been found in the Moroccan desert, giving vital proof of the earliest juncture between human culture and cognition.
Earlier in 2009, archaeologists working in the south-west of Germany at the cave of Hohle Fels discovered a small carved female erotic figurine, aged 35,000 years, plus a portion of a thin rudimentary flute carved from bird bone and dating from around the same time, which has been described as unambiguously the oldest musical instrument in the world. More proof still that early man started thinking outside of the box way sooner than anyone had until now thought possible.
Its a big blockbuster thing, six or seven episodes, Reid told Heat magazine of the new BBC drama (as quoted by STV News).
Im quite excited to play a Homo sapien, the Celebrity Big Brother winner added. Its like a different take that cavemen werent actually stupid, they were quite intellectual.
Rumours that Reid just marginally out-acted a shaven ape in auditions remain unconfirmed.