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People don't have to write their own books to refute the arguments.
Thank you, I am aware. I think you are also aware that effective refutation usually involves some reference to research, or secondary sources? I think anyone who has read a bit in this space knows there is an active debate among expert practitioners over whether Neanderthal populations were replaced or assimilated by Homo Sapiens. I also think Slimak's contribution deserves respect, not least because he has spent countless difficult hours digging to try and enrich our understanding. Not to say that makes his view definitive.
t-v-
I think you are also aware that effective refutation usually involves some reference to research, or secondary sources?
Well, that would have been a more reasonable response to Oliver than "You didn't write a book", but intellectual arguments against the book, such as Oliver made, aren't unreasonable. If they're not present, people are just playing a "the books I read are better than the book you read" dick-sizing game. "These aren't arguments you can confidently make about the way Neanderthals thought, given the lack of evidence" is a reasonable argument. "Here's the evidence you missed that does validate the argument and this is why it's important" would be a reasonable response. "You didn't write a book" isn't.
itsbruce
They do; I've seen this increasingly showing up online. The theory seems to be that the earlier migrants were smarter and evolved more when separate from the bulk of humanity. Since there's been more Neanderthal DNA found in populations outside Africa, this is then used to argue for African inferiority.
@t-v Von Daniken wrote books. People don't have to write their own books to refute the arguments.