What do we really know about our cousins, the Neanderthals? We have managed to sequence their DNA and excavated every known archaeological site containing their remains. But who were they really, without the trappings of our own ever-changing perceptions?

In a frequently passionate text that explores the tracing of this other humanity, Ludovic Slimak takes us on a remarkable archaeological investigation, from the vast frozen expanses of the Arctic Circle to the inaccessible caves of Mediterranean France and the interglacial forests of Europe with their incredible fauna. It is a research adventure that lasted thirty years—and is still ongoing—which played a pivotal role in the revolution that has swept paleoanthropology in recent decades.

The author paints the portrait of the Neanderthal man, paying close attention to every single scientific finding. Gradually, through the pages of the book, another human being emerges, with its own history, habits, and rituals, but also its own distinct intelligence, so different from our own.