Fundamentally, the long obsession over the Neanderthals’ fate reflects our deep dread of annihilation. Extinction is frightening; even the syllables slam up against each other. Is it a coincidence that as our species belatedly wakes up to what may be its greatest threat, apocalyptic fiction becomes all the rage? In the face of obliteration, we desire comforting parables where we are always the Ones Who Lived. What’s more, we want to feel special: most of the stories we’ve told about Neanderthals have been narcissistic reassurances that we ‘won’ because we’re outstanding, destined to survive.
