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Secrets of the Neanderthals - a review

 


Secrets of the Neanderthals is a Netflix documentary about our ancestors. It challenges your preconceptions about this ancient human species and introduces you to a different world.

Kindness and caring

The documentary is fascinating and introduces a new perspective about the Neanderthals. To this day, the word Neanderthal is used as offensive; it means that someone is not intelligent. Well, this documentary makes that assumption go away.

Various evidence left behind by these humans shows that they weren’t simply brutes with no complex cognitive activity. In fact, they seemed to be caring to each other. They took care of their elders and sick or hurt members of the group. This is probably one of the most significant evidence of an organized civilization. 

They even take care of their dead. The evidence shows that they have rituals to bury their loved ones who have died, which shows their ability to think about themselves and their place in the world.

It raises questions

Due to time action, it is impossible to have straight answers to all the questions, but the documentary makes us rethink the way we see this extinct human species and ourselves as well.

Secrets of the Neanderthals is an introspection about humanity and what really makes us human. I liked it very much, and I recommend watching it.

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