I read up a bit about Neanderthals – apparently they had ceremonial burial (i.e. with medicinal herbs, artifacts etc) which implies a spiritual system of some kind and presumably language of some kind. They also had tools and tool-making tools, and were generally more advanced than their reputation suggests. It’s strange to think that while we spend our time searching for intelligent life “out there”, another sentient species actually existed on Earth (I’d love to hear a creationist explain that).

I do quite like the idea of reconstructing extinct animals – Tassie tigers, dodos, etc.