'A rich and thorough study of Neanderthals as they existed not in prehistory but in our modern imagination.' —Angela Saini, author of Superior

'A keen examination of the interplay between specialized and pop knowledge, clearly written, richly documented, and highly recommended!' —Prof. Jonathan Marks, author of Understanding Human Diversity

'A superb, original and critical synthesis of so much previously unknown material – truly brilliant!' —Margaret W. Conkey, Professor Emerita of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley

'While Neanderthals went extinct tens of thousands of years ago, they remain with us – not just in the genes of many modern humans, but in our imaginations. As Peter Sahlins shows in this deeply researched and exceptionally entertaining book, for 170 years Neanderthals have obsessed modern humans. Synthesizing an astonishing mass of material, he reveals the myriad ways in which scientists, artists and popular entertainers have portrayed these close relatives of ours, in the hope that by understanding them, we will understand ourselves.' —Prof. David A. Bell, author of Napoleon: A Concise Biography

'A masterpiece – truly an amazing, inspired, and, no less remarkably, a deeply touching book. Neanderthals Among Us is a crystal-clear and highly-entertaining account of the 'Sapiens' Superiority Complex' through an historical study of modern humanity's doppelganger, the Neanderthal. Again and again, modern ideas about human distinction are mapped onto Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons in the shifting spaces between scientific evidence and cultural myth, and between nature and culture. If I were asked to choose one book to introduce the study of anthropology to general readers, it would be this one.' —Claudio Lomnitz, author of Death and the Idea of Mexico

'Although important Neanderthal fossils had been discovered earlier, the Feldhofer Grotto specimen unearthed in 1857 launched more than 150 years of speculation and debate about Neanderthals and their relationship to modern humans. What could possibly remain to be said? Before reading Peter Sahlins’ Neanderthals Among Us, I would have answered: very little. Yet Sahlins led me on a fascinating journey from nineteenth-century religious and cultural interpretations to modern debates over anatomy, evolution, and genomics. Wide-ranging, insightful, and deeply informed, this is the definitive history of "Neanderthal."' —Jeffrey Schwartz, author of Neanderthals: Fact, Fiction, and Wishful