Neanderthal actor on human stage

NEANDERTHALS are on display in a cage at Warsaw Zoo.

The new arrivals, a male and a female, are not, alas, the genuine article, nor can a Neanderthal captive breeding programme be attempted; actors play the roles of our long lost cousins. This publicity stunt, to advertise a play called ‘Caveman’, is not a major contribution to science. However, the exhibition is not entirely frivolous; it reminds visitors of their prehistoric roots.

“We wanted to promote the idea that we haven’t moved so far away from the animal world, that we are closer to animals than we sometimes think”, says Zoo director Andrzej Kruszewicz. A video clip on the web shows the actors dressed in rough animal skins. They don’t look at all like the Neanderthals portrayed in museum reconstructions.