It is a psychological and cultural fact about how modern humans process images of their ancient relatives.

But it matters for how we engage with the deeper questions the discovery raises.

For most people, the abstract claim that “Neanderthals may have buried their dead with flowers” produces a cognitive acknowledgment without a felt response.

The same information attached to a specific face — a face you can look at, a face that looks back — produces something closer to genuine recognition.

Something closer to the response you have when someone tells you about a person you can picture.