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rebel_rocketman 's review for:
The Humans Who Went Extinct: Why Neanderthals Died Out and We Survived
by Clive Finlayson
This was an excellent overview of early human history, covering everything from the evolution of the hominids until the beginnings of the agricultural "revolution", and gives some pretty fascinating insights on the relationships between humans and the various aspects of the world they encountered. The author also goes into considerable speculative depth as to what it means to truly be "human", regarding the various species within genus Homo (ancestral humans, Neanderthals, etc) as all possessing not only intelligence, but also conscience, symbolism, and higher thought, and seeks to dispel the common view that other humans were somehow "less human" than homo sapiens. While written in a somewhat "scientific" style that isn't as easily accessible as other popular science works on the subject, this book presents a unique and profoundly thought provoking insight on the development of humanity. The author, himself an archaeologist, draws on a wealth of archaeological evidence and scientific publications, and includes an impressive bibliography.
Despite thoroughly enjoying the read, I did feel vaguely unsatisfied with the way the book ended, feeling like there was no definite conclusion to everything I'd read. The subtitle ("Why Neanderthals Died Out and We Survived") is also somewhat misleading, as Neanderthals are really not the primary focus of the book at all, but rather the development of our own species and the unique ways we managed to survive while our predecessors - any and all of them - did not. However, this was still an excellent work and very much worth my time.
Despite thoroughly enjoying the read, I did feel vaguely unsatisfied with the way the book ended, feeling like there was no definite conclusion to everything I'd read. The subtitle ("Why Neanderthals Died Out and We Survived") is also somewhat misleading, as Neanderthals are really not the primary focus of the book at all, but rather the development of our own species and the unique ways we managed to survive while our predecessors - any and all of them - did not. However, this was still an excellent work and very much worth my time.