In Search of Homo Heidelbergensis

For many years, palaeoanthropologists believed that human evolution was a straightforward progression from the ape-like australopithecines, to the more human but still small-brained Homo erectus, to the larger-brained Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.  This compellingly simple and elegant scenario was routinely featured in museum displays. But by the 1990s, it was becoming clear that this scenario wa...