People have been fascinated by Neanderthals ever since we discovered their bones in a German cave in the mid-19th century. Their stocky bodies and huge heads give us a fun-house-mirror glimpse into the evolutionary road we might have traveled. Even though DNA research has shown that all modern-day human populations have a little Neanderthal in them, we still view our Neanderthal cousins as the black sheep lineage of the Homo genus.
Here's a look at 10 things we've learned about our closest known relatives — and, by extension, ourselves — this year.
