The Neanderthals RediscoveredThe Neanderthals Rediscovered
How Modern Science Is Rewriting Their History
Title rated 4.7 out of 5 stars, based on 10 ratings(10 ratings)
Book, 2013
Current format, Book, 2013, , Available .Book, 2013
Current format, Book, 2013, , Available . Offered in 0 more formatsPresents new information on the evolution and behavior of prehistoric man, describing behavior that is more modern than what has been traditionally attributed to them, including burying their dead, taking care of the sick, hunting and fishing.
Many people still consider Neanderthals to be nothing more than our dim-witted cousins who had lost the evolutionary lottery. The word itself is often used as an insult, with its implications of stupidity. But research over the last decade or so has changed our picture of them drastically. Their brains were large, their behavior, surprisingly modern, and their inferiority, nonexistent. This is the first book to offer the full treatment of the Neanderthal; history in context, their co-evolution with humans for hundreds of thousands of years in Europe, and their expansion into Asia (where they may have had the upper hand over humans). The authors (Papagianni, an archeologist and Morse, a historian of science) present the current state of knowledge about our long-lost relatives. Many tantalizing questions remain; the major mystery yet unsolved is the cause of their extinction. But, as the authors show, we have made great progress in resolving these questions in recent years, and their final solution will shed light not only on the fate of Neanderthals themselves, but also on the definition of humanity itself. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
In recent years, the common perception of the Neanderthal has been transformed thanks to new discoveries and paradigm-shattering scientific innovations. It turns out that the Neanderthals’ behavior was surprisingly modern: they buried the dead, cared for the sick, hunted large animals in their prime, harvested seafood, and spoke. Meanwhile, advances in DNA technologies have forced a reassessment of the Neanderthals’ place in our own past.For hundreds of thousands of years, Neanderthals evolved in Europe very much in parallel to the Homo sapiens line evolving in Africa, and, when both species made their first forays into Asia, the Neanderthals may even have had the upper hand. Here, Dimitra Papagianni and Michael A. Morse look at the Neanderthals through the full dramatic arc of their existence—from their evolution in Europe to their expansion to Siberia, their subsequent extinction, and ultimately their revival in popular novels, cartoons, cult movies, and TV commercials.
“Even-handed, up-to-date, and clearly written. . . . If you want to navigate between the Scylla and Charybdis of Neanderthal controversies, you’ll find no better guide.” —Brian Fagan, author of Cro-Magnon
Many people still consider Neanderthals to be nothing more than our dim-witted cousins who had lost the evolutionary lottery. The word itself is often used as an insult, with its implications of stupidity. But research over the last decade or so has changed our picture of them drastically. Their brains were large, their behavior, surprisingly modern, and their inferiority, nonexistent. This is the first book to offer the full treatment of the Neanderthal; history in context, their co-evolution with humans for hundreds of thousands of years in Europe, and their expansion into Asia (where they may have had the upper hand over humans). The authors (Papagianni, an archeologist and Morse, a historian of science) present the current state of knowledge about our long-lost relatives. Many tantalizing questions remain; the major mystery yet unsolved is the cause of their extinction. But, as the authors show, we have made great progress in resolving these questions in recent years, and their final solution will shed light not only on the fate of Neanderthals themselves, but also on the definition of humanity itself. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
In recent years, the common perception of the Neanderthal has been transformed thanks to new discoveries and paradigm-shattering scientific innovations. It turns out that the Neanderthals’ behavior was surprisingly modern: they buried the dead, cared for the sick, hunted large animals in their prime, harvested seafood, and spoke. Meanwhile, advances in DNA technologies have forced a reassessment of the Neanderthals’ place in our own past.For hundreds of thousands of years, Neanderthals evolved in Europe very much in parallel to the Homo sapiens line evolving in Africa, and, when both species made their first forays into Asia, the Neanderthals may even have had the upper hand. Here, Dimitra Papagianni and Michael A. Morse look at the Neanderthals through the full dramatic arc of their existence—from their evolution in Europe to their expansion to Siberia, their subsequent extinction, and ultimately their revival in popular novels, cartoons, cult movies, and TV commercials.
“Even-handed, up-to-date, and clearly written. . . . If you want to navigate between the Scylla and Charybdis of Neanderthal controversies, you’ll find no better guide.” —Brian Fagan, author of Cro-Magnon
Title availability
Find this title on
College of San Mateo LibrariesAbout
Contributors
Subject and genre
Details
Publication
- London ; New York : Thames & Hudson, 2013., ©2013
Opinion
More from the community
Community lists featuring this title
There are no community lists featuring this title
Community contributions
There are no quotations from this title
There are no quotations from this title
From the community