Neanderthal : neanderthal man and the story of human origins

Neanderthal man has a legendary status. His stocky, hairy, human-like figure, with heavy brow and receding chin, lumbers clumsily around in our collective imagination. But do we know who Neanderthal man really is? Was he our direct ancestor, or was he perhaps a more alien figure, not in the line of modern human descent at all, genetically very distinct - the victim rather than the driving force of the spread of humankind across the globe? The original Neanderthal bones were unearthed to great scholarly excitement in the Neander valley in Germany in the mid-19th century. This work brings together all the research into Homo sapiens neanderthalensis; into his world, his technology, his way of life (and death, even his beliefs), his origins and his relationship with us. Presents the results of research into the origins, lifestyle, and technology of Neanderthalers, discussing the genetic tests on Neanderthal bones that indicate the Neanderthal folk were not modern man's direct ancestor, and considering the recent archaeological discovery of a child that seems to be a mix of modern humans and Neanderthal types Paul Jordan takes us on a vivid journey through the history of our most famous cousin in search of the origins of all mankind Covers the current anthropological and archeological knowledge about Neanderthals, examining their link to modern humans.