The Neanderthals Rediscovered: How Modern Science is
Rewriting Their Story, by Papagianni and Morse, is a long awaited revaluation
of Neanderthals and their place in the evolving story of the genus homo.
Despite the theory of evolution, which stresses that
adaptions to the environment which contribute to the success of a species are
random and accidents, the study of early humans has been plagued by the still
dominate notion of the seeming inevitability of
the success of homo sapiens.
In Neanderthals
Rediscovered the authors go to great length to disprove this notion. In fact, they muddle the picture of human
evolution considerably, presenting it as far more complicated as is popularly
known. Even the dividing line between homo sapiens and other hominids is
blurred.
This book shows that the more we learn about human
origins, the more complex the picture becomes.
This is in keeping with our zeitgeist of diversity. This is how we see the world: as a complex
interaction of natural and social elements; a world that is not hierarchical in any strict sense.
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