Editing Openai/69177fbb-14c4-800f-bc57-ccb5a1d88c95 (section)

=== 1. Intense Focus / Deep Specialization ===

===== Archaeological basis =====
* Mousterian toolmaking required long-practice manual skill, consistency, and deliberate multi-step planning.
* Birch tar production (through dry distillation) shows procedural, patient, tightly controlled behavior.
* Evidence of repeated use of the same raw materials and techniques over long periods suggests stable, specialized traditions.

===== Plausibility as an autistic-style trait: High =====

This is the strongest overlap.
Neanderthal technological behavior implies:
* high tolerance for repetition
* deep procedural memory
* stable craft specialization
* narrow but refined technical repertoires

These echo autistic tendencies toward deep systemizing and craft-like mastery.

Caution:
Specialization ≠ autism. Lots of non-autistic hominins show this too. The overlap is metaphorically resonant, not diagnostic.