The Last Neanderthal: Understanding How Humans Die

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Ludovic Slimak Andrew Brown (Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, West Sussex, UK)

The Last Neanderthal

Understanding How Humans Die

Ludovic Slimak, Andrew Brown (Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, West Sussex, UK)

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Hardback

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English

Polity Press
12 December 2025

History; Archaeology

It’s August 2015. After twenty-five years of archaeological research in a secluded cave overlooking the Rhône Valley in southern France, Ludovic Slimak uncovers the remains of a Neanderthal, frozen in time – a discovery that casts fresh light on a critical turning point in human history. Could these remains belong to one of the last Neanderthals? As scientists from around the world analyze the site, their findings disrupt everything we thought we knew about the final days of these ancient humans. This discovery takes us to the defining threshold when multiple human species, once coexisting in the same world, are wiped from history—leaving Homo sapiens as the sole human survivor.

Slimak takes the reader on an extraordinary journey of discovery that is both scientific and profoundly human, blending rigorous research with evocative storytelling. This breathtaking exploration of the past not only unearths the lost world of the Neanderthals but forces us to confront the unspoken question: is this how humanity dies?

A compelling narrative spanning millennia, The Last Neanderthal is both a groundbreaking scientific revelation and a profound reflection on the fragility of humanity and the threads that connect us to the distant past.

By: Ludovic Slimak
Translated by: Andrew Brown (Queen Victoria Hospital East Grinstead West Sussex UK)
Imprint: Polity Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 160mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 680g
ISBN: 9781509569588
ISBN 10: 1509569588
Pages: 210
Publication Date: 12 December 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Ludovic Slimak is a paleoanthropologist at the University of Toulouse and Director of the Grotte Mandrin research project. His work focuses on the last Neanderthal societies and he is the author of several hundred scientific studies on these populations. His research has been featured in Nature, Science, Cell, The New York Times, the Guardian and elsewhere.