Author Description

For too long the Neanderthals have been seen as evolutionary dead-ends but advances in DNA technologies have forced a reassessment of their place in our own past. This extensively illustrated book looks at the Neanderthals from their evolution in Europe to their expansion to Siberia and their subsequent extinction. It turns out that the Neanderthals' behaviour was surprisingly modern so what caused their extinction? This is one of many mysteries that we are closer to solving. They evolved in Europe in parallel to the Homo Sapiens line evolving in Africa. When both species made their first moves into Asia, the Neanderthals may even have had the upper hand. The superiority of Homo sapiens suddenly seems less obvious or inevitable.