The Neandertal enigma : solving the mystery of modern human origins

Author / Creator

Shreeve, James

Available as

Physical

Summary

The Neandertals were a hardy species of enormous physical strength and manifest intelligence that survived the Ice Age rigors of Europe and western Asia for more than 100,000 years. Then 300 centur...

The Neandertals were a hardy species of enormous physical strength and manifest intelligence that survived the Ice Age rigors of Europe and western Asia for more than 100,000 years. Then 300 centuries ago, they inexplicably vanished--replaced by the "double wise" Homo sapiens sapiens, who left their handprints on cave walls, and whose explosive emergence was the most significant event in the history of our planet since the origin of life itself. Yet the fate of the Neandertal remains a conundrum that has sparked debate and violent dissension, effectively polarizing the anthropological establishment.

Who were they? Where did they go? Did our direct ancestors play some grisly role in their demise? It is the mystery that impelled distinguished science writer James Shreeve across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and across the battlines separating warring factions of the scientific community, in search of nothing less than the elusive origin of humankind, and an understanding of what it is that makes us human.

Show More