The Naked Neanderthal

Louis Slimak, a paleoanthropologist, studies Neanderthals. His research team made a significant breakthrough: it turned out that Homo sapiens and Neanderthals coexisted in Europe for thousands of years, alternately occupying the same sites. This raises questions about how these two species interacted—could they communicate, understand each other, what beliefs and rituals did they have? How is the disappearance of the Neanderthals connected to Homo sapiens? Slimak’s research continues, uncovering new facts that change how we perceive our ancient relatives.

The book is presented in a detective style: discoveries happen through searching and chance finds, reminiscent of a criminal investigation—here described as the meeting of Homo sapiens and Neanderthals in the Mandrin cave. The author uses archaeological-data interrogation-related terminology.