Kindred

over the past few decades, in many ways there are more questions than ever

The fundamental conclusion to draw about the end of the Neanderthals is to expect the unexpected. Despite enormous advances in chronologies, technological analysis and species identification

tinted by our own expectations.

The most important lesson is to take Neanderthals at face value, rather than squinting through a lens tinted

If Neanderthals planned activities ahead of time and had a schedule of sorts for where to move, this implies that they could imagine the future, and had enough brainpower to maintain goals over days, weeks or even months

From about 120 ka fire was obviously part of everyday life

But the question of whether Neanderthals simply scavenged it or could produce it is, perhaps surprisingly, still debated

Niggling assumptions persist that they must have been doing something fundamentally ‘wrong’ to explain why they disappeared, even though the archaeological reality leaves claims about our superiority somewhat hanging. Even if not at all sites or in such large degree, as a species they’re far closer than used to be believed to the ‘broad spectrum’ diet that supposedly underlay early H. sapiens’ success

Strict carnivory actually starves the body, terminating in protein poisoning

Catching birds has long been believed an advanced hunting technique, so how did Neanderthals do it?