Neanderthals were not the crude ancestors of humanity. Some think they were a
different species from modern humans, but others think we carry their genes.
Evidence about their lives is fragmentary, so to make a TV series about them,
“leaps of imagination” have to be taken. Douglas Palmer’s book to accompany the
series Neanderthal is lavish. Frequent use of “possibly”, “perhaps” and
so on shows the ice is thin for skating. Published by Channel 4, £20, ISBN
0752272144.
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