Beneath massively muscled thighs were thicker, rounder and slightly curved leg bones…unlike countless inaccurate reconstructions they absolutely walked as upright as us.” Dressed properly and passing on a city street, a Neanderthal would attract no attention. Despite countless popular portrayals, the average Neanderthal was not a hunchbacked caveman: “Somewhat shorter than average,” writes the author, “with broader chests and little waists, their limb proportions were also slightly different. Since some experts insisted that these were simply a contemporary with bone disease, serious study only began at the end of the century after more discoveries. Although not the first, the Neanderthal bones unearthed by German miners in 1856 were the first recognized as different from modern humans. Wragg Sykes has made a career studying Neanderthals, and she skillfully lays out a massive amount of information, much of which has turned up over the past few decades. Everything you ever wanted to know about our closest relative.
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May 2023
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