Advances in fields such as genetics, neurology, and anthropology have made it possible to distinguish between myth and measurable reality with far greater precision. Researchers today emphasize that there is no such thing as a “living Neanderthal” hidden among modern populations.
Neanderthals, as a distinct group, became extinct tens of thousands of years ago, although small traces of their DNA remain in many modern humans. The idea that an isolated individual could represent a surviving member of that species reflects more about human imagination than scientific possibility.
