Tristan Hughes is joined by Ella Al-Shamahi, paleoanthropologist and presenter of the hit BBC series Human, to explore what interactions between early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals may have been like, from communication and cultural exchange to interbreeding and the possibility of hybrid children navigating belonging.

They discuss how new research is challenging “primitive” stereotypes to reveal how Neanderthals were complex beings who used pigments, pierced shells, talons, feathers, and created cave handprints.

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Presented by Tristan Hughes. The producer is Joseph Knight. Edited & co-produced by Aidan Lonergan. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

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Homo Sapiens vs Neanderthals

The Ancients