We Underestimated the Neanderthal

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<p>Pop culture has not been kind to the Neanderthal. In books, movies and even TV commercials, the species is portrayed as rough and mindless, a brutish type that was rightly supplanted by our Homo sapiens ancestors.</p><p>But even 40,000 years after the last Neanderthals walked the earth, we continue to make discoveries that challenge that portrayal. New research suggests Neanderthals might have been less primitive — and a lot more like modern humans — than we might have thought.</p><p>The Times science reporters Carl Zimmer and Franz Lidz discuss recent discoveries about Neanderthals, and what those discoveries can tell us about the origins of humanity.</p><p> </p><p><strong>On Today’s Episode:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/carl-zimmer" target="_blank">Carl Zimmer</a> writes the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/origins" target="_blank">Origins column</a> and covers news about science for The Times.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/franz-lidz" target="_blank">Franz Lidz</a> writes about archaeology for The Times.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Background Reading:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/science/archaeology-neanderthals-genetics.html" target="_blank">The Year in Neanderthals</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/14/science/neanderthal-sleep-morning-people.html" target="_blank">Morning Person? You Might Have Neanderthal Genes to Thank.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/science/human-brain-neanderthal-gene.html" target="_blank">What Makes Your Brain Different From a Neanderthal’s?</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/video/science/100000002887069/science-profile-svante-paabo.html" target="_blank">The Neanderthal Inside Us</a></p><p> </p><p>Photo: Frank Franklin II/Associated Press</p> <p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>