The Neanderthals were members of a parallel humanity that evolved in Europe for hundreds of thousands of years. They manufactured stone tools like the Cro--Magnons, the modern humans -- with whom they were in direct competition for thousands of years -- and they used language. They were human not only because of their place in our evolutionary group but also in the spiritual nature of their beliefs and in their emotions, in their very human minds. The way they lived and the reasons they disappeared fifty thousand years ago offer a surprising mirror in which we can examine and learn more about our no--so--alien lives. In The Neanderthala s Necklace, Juan Luis Arsuaga -- Europea s most celebrated paleoanthropologist -- displays not only his well--known scientific acuity but also his talents as an engaging teacher and storyteller, giving us a concise and readable description of what we know about who we are and how we came to be so.