Fen Edge Archaeology Group - Monthly talk 'The Archaeology of Neanderthal humanity: the Shanidar Project' by Tim Reynolds (Birkbeck University) 16th February 2017 at 7:30pm (doors open 7:15pm) Tony Cooper Suite, Cottenham Village College (Note: The Tony Cooper Suite is in the sixth form block behind the main school.) Tim will be talking about his research exploring the adaptations and behaviour of Neanderthals and modern humans against a background of changing climate. Excavations at Shanidar Cave (in Iraqi Kurdistan) have yielded evidence for occupation by Neanderthals and modern humans. A number of Neanderthal burials were recovered that showed care for elderly and injured individuals. Recent discoveries of interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans and a late date for the spread of the latter into Europe make sites such as Shanidar key to understanding the nature of Neanderthal/Homo sapiens relations and to answering the question of what happened to the Neanderthals. Tim Reynolds is a senior lecturer at Birkbeck College, London, and is a former county archaeologist for Cambridgeshire. He is currently preparing a book on the origin and spread of modern humans, completing work on the site of the Haua Fteah, Libya and planning renewed investigations for Shanidar cave, Iraq.