We are in the midst of rewriting our understanding of Neanderthals
19 August 2020
Kindred by Rebecca Wragg Sykes explains how modern techniques are helping us to better understand Neanderthals, as well as where we fit in to the family tree
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Premium
Neanderthals may have learned jewellery-making from us
11 May 2020
The first modern humans to settle in Europe made pendants out of bear teeth – and a few thousand years later, Neanderthals started doing it too
Oldest ever piece of string was made by Neanderthals 50,000 years ago
9 April 2020
A piece of string found in a cave in France is the oldest ever discovered and shows that Neanderthals knew how to twist fibres together to make cords
Neanderthals feasted on seafood and nuts according to fossil remains
26 March 2020
The fossilised remains of the food found in one of the few remaining coastal Neanderthal sites in Europe show they ate plenty of seafood, fish and nuts
70,000-year-old remains suggest Neanderthals buried their dead
18 February 2020
A Neanderthal skeleton unearthed in a cave in Iraq shows signs of having been deliberately buried – more evidence our cousin species behaved a little like we do
Neanderthals never lived in Africa, but their genes got there anyway
30 January 2020
Neanderthals never lived in Africa, but traces of their DNA persist in the genomes of people of African ancestry today, and the amount of Neanderthal DNA in people of European ancestry has been underestimated
Neanderthals may have died out due to sheer bad luck
27 November 2019
Modern humans have long been in the frame for driving our Neanderthal cousins to extinction, but random chance may explain their downfall
Ancient footprints show Neanderthals may have been taller than thought
9 September 2019
The biggest collection of Neanderthal footprints yet discovered offers a window on their social structure, and shows that their group was filled with children
Neanderthals spent a surprising amount of time underwater
14 August 2019
Neanderthals’ bony ear growths – similar to “surfer’s ear” in modern water-loving humans – suggest they spent lots of time foraging in aquatic environments
Ancient DNA reveals Neanderthal migration and interbreeding
26 June 2019
DNA from 120,000-year-old bones sheds light on the ancestry of Neanderthals in Europe, revealing a remarkable 80,000 years of genetic continuity, interbreeding with a mystery hominin and migrations
