The Naked Neanderthal

In this acclaimed bestseller, an explorer and Neanderthal hunter takes us on a riveting journey of discovery

'With the style of a poet and imagination of a philosopher, Ludovic Slimak probes the minds of Neanderthals. . . This fun and provocative book is a reminder that we still have a lot to learn about biological intelligence' Steve Brusatte


What if we have completely misunderstood who the Neanderthals truly were?

For over a century we saw them as inferior to Homo Sapiens. Today, Neanderthals are seen as fully human, different from us only because of their distant cultural traditions. But does the truth lie somewhere else entirely?

Neanderthal hunter and paleoanthropologist Ludovic Slimak understands these enigmatic creatures like no one else after studying them for three decades. Taking us on a fascinating archaeological investigation from the Arctic Circle to the deep Mediterranean forests, he traces their steps, deciphering their stories through every single detail they left behind.

In this stunning, bold book, he argues that Neanderthals should be understood on their own terms. They had their own history, their own rituals, their own customs. Their own intelligence. A remarkable intelligence, for sure, but an intelligence that may have been very different from ours - although it can still teach us much about ourselves.

A thought-provoking detective story, written with wit and verve, The Naked Neanderthal shifts our understanding of deep history - and in the process reveals just how much we have yet to learn.

Review

With the style of a poet and imagination of a philosopher, Ludovic Slimak probes the minds of Neanderthals, our closest cousins. All too often Neanderthals are envisioned as either prehistoric brutes or full humans, but Slimak argues that they were something unique, a species that developed their own forms of consciousness and intelligence. In an age of artificial intelligence, this fun and provocative book is a reminder that we still have a lot to learn about biological intelligence -- Steve Brusatte, author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

A thrilling, bracing and scholarly introduction to modes of being and of paying attention to the world which are both akin to ours and importantly and revealingly different. We need urgently to consider less dysfunctional ways of occupying the cosmos and our own heads. The Neanderthals, speaking movingly and iconoclastically through Slimak, might be able to help -- Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast

Ludovic Slimak provides a remarkable and well-informed account of the many facets of the lost Neanderthals. It shows us what it means to be human and allows us to better imagine what extraterrestrials might be like -- Avi Loeb, author of Extraterrestrial

Who were the Neanderthals, and what do we really know about their artefacts and tools, customs and culture? An eye-opening and refreshing account, full of surprising revelations and personal reflections from a researcher who has spent thirty years coming face-to-face with another human species -- Lewis Dartnell, author of Being Human

A fascinating, immensely enjoyable read by a brilliant and original thinker who has dedicated his working life to studying Neanderthals -- Jonathan Kennedy, author of Pathogenesis

Roaming through caves, digging through earth and rocks, and unearthing fossils, this adventurous, bearded archaeologist takes us from the Arctic Circle to Mediterranean forests in his search for the famous Neanderthal. His personal quest combined with the scientific argument gives the book its real weight. The writing is lively and the author deftly uses sarcasm and shock factor ― Les Echos

A candid and uncompromising approach to a much-debated part of humanity's early history ... Slimak immerses us in the daily life of a prehistoric archaeologist ... a bold book ― L'Histoire.fr

Ludovic Slimak takes us on an astonishing archaeological quest. . . he squarely confronts the myths surrounding this extinct species ... This human 'creature' is the Neanderthal, of course. But it's us too, whose unexpected portrait emerges from this comparison across millennia ― Les Rencontres Philosophiques de Monaco

About the Author

Ludovic Slimak is a paleoanthropologist at the University of Toulouse in France and Director of the Grotte Mandrin research project. His work focuses on the last Neanderthal societies and he is the author of several hundred scientific studies on these populations. His research has been featured in Nature, Science, The New York Times and more. The Naked Neanderthal was published to great acclaim in France.