The Naked Neanderthal: A New Understanding of the Human Creature

In this ho-hum study, Slimak (The Last Neanderthal), a paleoanthropologist at the University of Toulouse in France, examines what recent anthropological findings reveal about the lives of Neanderthals. Slimak argues Neanderthals were “an utterly different humanity” than Homo sapiens and thrived in Eurasia from 350 to 40 thousand years ago before sapiens’ arrival on the continent from Africa led to Neanderthal “eradication.” Evaluating theories of how Neanderthals went extinct, Slimak contends that human species are highly adaptable, making it unlikely that changes in climate killed the Neanderthals. Instead, he asserts that sapiens’ technologically superior weapons gave them an edge when it came to hunting game. Unfortunately, the uncertainty that permeates much of the volume will leave readers with more questions than answers; for instance, Slimak notes that scientists aren’t sure of the boundaries of where Neanderthals lived, and the high margin of error in carbon-dating ancient sites has made it difficult to determine if many of the alleged Neanderthal artifacts even belonged to them. Slimak also appears more preoccupied with poking holes in other scientists’ theories than discussing what Neanderthals were like, as when he posits that the claws, shells, and feathers that some scientists argue constituted Neanderthal “art” were just collections of objects that bear no signs of “deliberate artisanal modification.” Only devoted students of the Paleolithic will find this dig worth the effort. (Feb.)