Learning about the Neanderthals

She was interviewed at the University of Southampton for an audio podcast that will form part of a new permanent exhibition called Treasures. It features a selection of the museum's collections that have changed scientific thinking and explains their importance.

Anna talks about the first adult Neanderthal skull: "This was an important discovery as it proved to be evidence for the theory that Homo Neanderthalensis was a different species to Homo Sapiens," she says. The podcasts also feature a conversation with a museum curator.

Vicky Paterson from the Natural History Museum says the interviews will give new insights into often-familiar items. "We wanted to illustrate the impact of science through discussions with the experts. Anna is a natural communicator and explains how computer modelling can tell us a great deal about these early people," she says.

The Natural History Museum chose to interview Anna because of her earlier work in partnership with archaeologists at University College London (UCL), funded by a European Union grant to investigate whether Neanderthals had the power of speech.

The podcasts will be available from 30 November on the Museum's website and through iTunes.

Anna has also been interviewed for a BBC television series on early man to be broadcast this week: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2012/43/prehistoric-autopsy.html