SPb. : Nestor-History, 2010. - 312 p., ill. ISBN 978-5-98187-614-1

Neanderthals were not our direct ancestors, but nevertheless they are our closest relatives, and we they have a lot in common. To call them a dead-end branch of evolution, in the opinion of the author of this book, is as incorrect as it is incorrect to apply this epithet in relation to, say, the indigenous population of Tasmania and other primitive populations of people destroyed as a result of European colonization. Rather, Neanderthals should be considered “understudies” of homo sapiens, a backup option for anthropogenesis. Why did history choose us and not them? How did this choice happen? What played a decisive role in it? Was it predetermined in advance or did it depend more on incidental and therefore largely random circumstances? The author examines these and many other questions, simultaneously summarizing and presenting in a form accessible to non-specialists what is now known about the origin and evolutionary history of Neanderthals, their mental and linguistic abilities, material and emerging spiritual culture, the dynamics of their settlement and the causes of extinction. For each of the listed topics, the most interesting and important information available to paleoanthropology, archeology and related sciences as of mid-2010 was taken into account. The book is addressed to everyone interested in the ancient past of mankind - from academics to students and high school students. ContentsPreface History of acquaintance New man . - Names. - Relation degree. - From ancestors to brothers. Special features Disgusting, dirty, evil. - Collective image. — Details.PedigreeReal Europeans. - Common roots. - Our spread throughout the planet. — Neanderthalization. - Great view. — Fossil genes. At the edge of the world, the world around them. - Children of the north. - The hardships of life. Not with a single stone. Know-how of the Middle Paleolithic. — High-tech in Neanderthal style. - Tamed fire. - Blood. — Clothes and shoes. — Utensils. And not just meat. Brothers in mind. Brain: quantity and quality. — Symbols and intelligence. — Questions of linguistics. The mysterious Neanderthal soul Just “trinkets”? - On the last journey. — In search of religion. People among people Neanderthal communities. — Man and space. — Mercy and care for others. — Cruelty, violence and eating your neighbors. Drang nach osten Stages of the long journey. - Neanderthal races. — Contemporaries and neighbors. Alternative humanity. Homeland of homo sapiens. - Exodus. - The fruits of competition. — Neanderthal + homo sapiens u003d ?. Be fruitful and multiply! ConclusionLiteratureAbbreviationsGlossaryIndicesName indexIndex of monuments