If it turns out the Neanderthals weren't numbskulls, who can we look down on?

Archaeology is exploding the comforting myths and yardsticks against which we measure our supposed progress

These are about the only two archaeological truths anyone knows, and they've been blown apart in the same week: Neanderthal man was not stupid; and Egyptian pyramids were not built by slaves. It's hard to think of a historical revelation that would have so much impact: Henry VIII not the instigator but actually the victim of divorce proceedings; Richard I did not have the heart of a lion, but a small sheep.

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