I'm fascinated by the effort to reconstruct the Neanderthal life - how they ate, where they lived, their physiology, their cognitive workings, their use of symbols. They were more like us than any other species (or sub-species) out there, and yet also more distinct from us than any two modern human populations.

John Hawks, who is always a good source for Neanderthal news has some great recent posts and links worth checking out:

Methylation in Neanderthal DNA

A recent paper on neanderthal art - new evidence that neanderthals made shell jewelry well before modern humans arrived on the scene. Be sure to click through to the pictures on Alan Boyle's Cosmic Log.

And a bunch of "Neanderthal CSI" links.

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