Secrets of the Neanderthals

Secrets of the Neanderthals (2024) is a British documentary you can watch online on iFILM, narrated by Patrick Stewart and directed by Ashley Gething. The film builds its case from paleontological finds that have quietly upended decades of assumptions.

Neanderthals shared the planet with our ancestors for thousands of years before disappearing. What the fossil record now shows is striking: burials scattered with flower pollen, eagle-talon necklaces, and sustained care for group members who could no longer fend for themselves. Each discovery chips away at the brutish-caveman shorthand. Eighty minutes in, and the question of what makes us human feels less settled than it did at the start. Stream Secrets of the Neanderthals online on iFILM.