Neanderthal - Hardcover

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Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0752272144 ISBN 13: 9780752272146

Publisher: Channel 4, 2000

Synopsis

Tied to a Channel 4 documentary series, this is about the rise and fall of one of the most successful species ever to have walked the Earth. It tells how they thrived for nearly 200,000 years (much longer than modern man), and how they adapted to violent extremes of climate - until man arrived.

About this title

Review

If only all books-of-the-television-series were as good as Douglas Palmer's Neanderthal. Channel 4 is rapidly establishing itself as the standard-bearer in this particular genre, with spin-off publications that combine traditional glossy production with intelligent and authoritative writing. Palmer tells the story of the fascinating extinct humans of the title with great clarity and simplicity, while managing to convey much of the depth and subtlety of the academic discipline of palaeoanthropology.

Beginning with a 28-page chapter entitled "How do we know what we know?", the historical and scientific fundamentals are well established before the book embarks on interpretations of the Neanderthal's ice-age world, the physical appearance of these remarkable people, their individual and social behaviours, reproductive characteristics, cultural practices, tool-making skills, relationships in time and space with expanding Cro-Magnon human populations, and the Neanderthals' ultimate decline to extinction. The last chapter brings the subject right up to date with recent genetic research that looks set to revolutionise our understanding of modern humans and our relationships with our evolutionary cousins and ancestors. There isn't a chapter that isn't fascinating and thought provoking. A perfect gift for the serious-minded reader. --Chris Lavers

From the Author

I would like to reply to a reader's review of my book Neanderthal, which criticises it for having a Eurocentric view. The book was commissioned to accompany a TV series of the same name, which specifically looked at the Neanderthals in a Western European context and dealt with the contact between the Neanderthals and the incoming Cro-Magnon modern humans (Homo sapiens) who had originated in Africa around a 100,000 years ago and reached Western Europe around 40,000 years ago. To give the context for this story I gave something of the historical background to the discovery of Neanderthals in Western Europe and their origins. Consequently, the Eurasian story was beyond my remit. My main concern was to present the Neanderthals and the arguments about them in as fair a way as possible. This is an ongoing and very interesting story that I hope to return to at some point in the future. I am sorry if this particular reader was disappointed but I hope my explanation is satisfactory

Edition details

• Publisher: Channel 4
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0752272144
• ISBN 13: 9780752272146
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224