The pop-culture stereotype of a Neanderthal – even the word itself – conjures the image of a stumbling buffoon, dressed in a loincloth, banging some rocks together. But who actually were our ancient relatives?
Rebecca Wragg Sykes doesn’t profess to have the exact answer, but thanks to her work as an archaeologist, she knows Neanderthals were much more than most of us suppose. In her book, Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art, Rebecca examines both the history of these early people and the contemporary work scientists and archeologists have done over the past couple of hundred years to learn about them. Because although Neanderthals lived 40,000 years ago, Rebecca says that the most glorious thing about them is that they belong to all of us, here and now. Rebecca Wraggs Sykes joins us Friday at 11 a.m. MST to tell us why Neanderthals matter. (Rebroadcast)
Dr. Rebecca Wragg Sykes | @LeMoustier Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool and author of Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art [IndieBound|Amazon|Bookshop]
