[ WP ] In an unexplored section of Serbia wilderness scientists discover the last surviving neanderthals . They also learned that they are n't extinct , they are hiding .

Janet King crept forward into the cave, her back just brushing the roof as she held the torch in front of her. The inhabitants that she knew were inside were a skittish lot; easily startled into the darker depths of the network where they could remain hidden from all but the most sensitive equipment. They were the scientific find of the millennia. Nothing would ever compare to the discovery of a living tribe of *Homo neanderthalensis; * nothing. 
 
 Heavy breathing caused Janet to turn and look at her companions: Mark Williams, ‘ anthropologist extraordinaire ’ as he called himself; and Rochelle Nichols, ‘ the last linguist you ’ ll ever need. ’ They were making yet another trek into the cave in an effort to bridge the communication gap and finally speak to the newly dubbed *Homo neanderthalensis viventium; * or ‘ The Living Neanderthal. ’ 
 
 A grunt signaled that they had reached the edge of the village, so they all immediately held their hands up to show no weapons. Out of the inky blackness, several forms emerged and took their torches from them. Electricity baffled them, so they stuck to more primitive forms of light in order to prevent misunderstandings. 
 
 Despite the theories about their primitive intelligence and methods, they had proven to be quite resourceful and capable. The village elder, Gunthar as he was apparently called, knew a smattering of English, but was picking up sign language very quickly. He mostly communicated with the others through visual cues, hand signals, and a surprisingly complex series of grunts and that sounded almost like a pre-Slavic language. 
 
 *No weapons, only talk, * Rochelle signed repeatedly as they were all thoroughly investigated. 
 
 One of the leaders, a Neanderthal named Tuk, moved into the light and crudely signed back, *What talk? * 
 
 Rochelle stepped forward around Janet and signed back, *Talk, learn. * 
 
 *Learn little* 
 
 Rochelle frowned, *Learn much* 
 
 Tuk grunted and turned to his companions and quickly communicated between each other. Janet leaned over to Rochelle, “ What are they saying? ” 
 
 “ Tuk is arguing, saying that we ’ re stone-heads, ” Rochelle said as she tried to listen in on the conversation. Much of it escaped her due to Tuk ’ s back being turned to them, as well as using grunts and signs she was not familiar with. After a few moments she added, “ He is saying that they explained dangers, but we still come. We will be guides of… ” she broke off as she puzzled over a sign, but then shrugged. “ I ’ m not sure what that last sign is, could be death, devastation, famine, bad luck, any number of things really. I ’ ve seen them use something similar for a sprained ankle. ” 
 
 Janet sighed with frustration. Initially the Neanderthals had welcomed the concept of others living outside their village. They had talked excitedly for the first few weeks, learning each other ’ s language, but slowly things had changed. When they began to describe how many people lived on the surface, the Gunthar became withdrawn, and not as talkative. Frequently he had stopped in the middle of a talk to go speak with his advisors. This had been an exciting revelation at first, evidence of their hierarchy, but that excitement had quickly faded when it became a barrier to their understanding. 
 
 Suddenly, Tuk turned back to them and grunted/signed, *Gunthar talk. * He then turned and marched towards the elder ’ s tent. 
 
 “ Finally, some more progress, ” Janet said. They were hoping to talk to him about the history of their tribe this time; find out specifics of what sort of ancestral knowledge they had passed down from generation to generation. They apparently kept no written records, but they had a very rich oral history. The elder had also grown very quiet recently, and had refused them an audience four times now. They were worried they had offended, but they didn ’ t know how. 
 
 As they approached the tent, Tuk waved them over, bowed in the direction of the tent, and then turned to stand guard. The small part gently opened the flap, bowed deeply, and then crawled through the dirt inside. This had been their first lesson in humility to the Neanderthals, and it had been a hard one. Initially they had just walked in, and apparently were very close to being executed for impudence. Fortunately, Gunthar was wise enough to explain their mistake, and they never made it again. 
 
 “ Surface people, ” Gunthar grunted as they crawled through the door. “ Rise heads. Sit. ” 
 
 They did as they were told and sat before him in a small semi-circle. He was seated on his chair, covered with various animal hides and ornaments. An advisor stood to his left, and his wife to his right. At least, they assumed she was his wife. They were never able to get a clear answer from him. 
 
 “ Why come, ” Gunthar asked as they got settled. 
 
 *Learn more, * Rochelle signed. 
 
 “ No, ” Gunthar said with a wave of his hand. “ You stop learn when you stop listen. ” 
 
 “ This again? ” Janet whispered to Mark. 
 
 “ It seems he has decided we have taken up enough of his time, ” Mark said as he quietly scratched his chin. “ I assume he believes that we outsiders are no longer worthy of his presence. ” 
 
 “ I ’ m not sure, ” Rochelle said, nudging Mark in the ribs, “ He was very chatty until he asked about the—, “ and at this point she made a hand sign they had not been able to interpret. Part of what they had been trying to do today was to learn what that sign meant. 
 
 Gunthar leaned forward on his chair and stamped his foot. He made the same hand motion, and then made the one that Rochelle said meant ‘ death, devastation, famine, and bad luck. ’ 
 
 Mark bowed his head and leaned forward, “ We want to know what that is. We brought wall-pictures. ” He reached into his satchel and brought out a book of all the possible creatures that lived during their time. He held it forward and Gunthar took it gingerly. He had seen books before, and held them in high reverence when he learned they could teach knowledge like the sages. 
 
 Rochelle signed and grunted to him, *Look at wall-pictures, find—, * and then she made the same sign from earlier. Gunthar frowned, but then nodded and began flipping through the book slowly, and very carefully. 
 
 “ Are we sure it ’ s an animal and not just another tribe, ” Mark asked as Gunthar studied. 
 
 “ I ’ m sure of it, ” Rochelle said, “ I ’ ve been watching their signs and language. They have a specific word for rival tribes, and it ’ s nowhere near that weird hand-sign. ” 
 
 “ So what are they so scared of then, ” Janet asked as she saw Gunthar growl angrily at a picture of a sabre-tooth cat. “ It ’ s the only thing they seem truly scared of; I mean, I got the impression they moved below ground to escape *it, * whatever *it* is. ” 
 
 Mark shrugged and said, “ When I met with him earlier, he said there used to be a huge network of caves and tunnels all throughout the world so that people could move and live without fear. ” 
 
 “ Wait, ” Janet said as she looked at Mark, “ You mean like those tunnels they ’ ve discovered recently in Europe? When did he tell you that? ” 
 
 Mark pulled out his notebook and glanced at it, “ Seems it was just the other day. I got him talking about how they built this cave and he sent me to the Cave Builder Takuun. He explained there used to be ‘ many, many steps ’ of tunnels. ” 
 
 Suddenly, Gunthar stopped and said excitedly, “ Here. Not same, but brother. ” 
 
 All three stood and carefully looked in the book. The page Gunthar was looking at happened to be a picture of an enormous lizard; a large head full of sharp teeth, huge claws, and walking upright. Janet looked at everyone else, “ Is that *Allosaurus? * ” 
 
 Gunthar grunted towards his advisor who handed him a piece of coal. He then began drawing what looked like enormous bat-like wings on the back. 
 
 “ Is he drawing a— “ Rochelle whispered. 
 
 “ Yes, ” Janet said as she stared in awe. 
 
 Gunthar looked up from his drawing. “ This— “ and he made the hand symbol again, “ It bring death/devastation/famine/bad luck. Once many, many, many, many people in many, many, many tribes. It come. We build tunnels to live; to hide. It grow hungry. It sleep. Now you say many, many, many, many people in many, many, many tribes again on surface. It smell. It wake. It feed. You learn now. ” 
 
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