For countless generations, 80,000 years ago, Europe was the kingdom of a remarkable and mysterious Neanderthal. A human being who is so similar to us in so many ways and yet so different. Tonight we’ve assembled a world-class team of experts to reconstruct Neanderthals. In unparalleled anatomical detail. We’ll discover exactly how modern humans stack up against our ancient counterparts in strength and stamina.
And how Neanderthals matched us in intelligence and creativity. In the end, we will be able to answer some of the big questions about human evolution. Were Neanderthals legendary simple-minded creatures? Or a competitor of our own species? Why are we the only human species alive today, while Neanderthals went extinct?
This is the beginning of a legend. What was this ancient creature and when did it live? Soon at least one thing is certain, and it’s not the only one. The remains of barbarians have been found all over Europe. From the Atlantic coast in the west to the foothills of the Himalayas in the east. They are everywhere.
Like many of the best stories, the Neanderthal saga began with a serendipitous discovery. In 1848, a strange skull was found at a small military outpost in Gibraltar. When it was first revealed, it baffled everyone who saw it. Undoubtedly a human, but with the thick facial features of an ape.
