Promoting Gibraltar in top international media

Professor Clive Finlayson's latest book "The Humans who went Extinct" (Oxford University Press) which was launched in Gibraltar during this year's Calpe Conference is receiving wide international publicity. Within this coverage Gibraltar is getting worldwide exposure, through the author's position as Director of the Gibraltar Museum and also because of the research in Gorham's Cave.

The issue of the Wall Street Journal of the 10th October carried a column written by Professor Finlayson. This formed part of a regular feature in which the journal invites an expert in his field to summarise his choice of best five books on a chosen subject. On this occasion Professor Finlayson was given the subject of Extinction and he presented his selection for the journal readership.

The 4th November issue of the scientific magazine New Scientist carried a full review of the museum director's latest book and the 5th November issue of The Times, in its Eureka supplement, features him in a head-tohead with Professor Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London. The feature, reserved for two eminent scientists to give contrasting views on a chosen subject, asks the question: "Was it an accident that Neanderthals died out and humans survived?" Professor Finlayson was invited to defend the question with a "yes".

The forthcoming issue of Newsweek, now accessible on-line, carries a review of Professor Finlayson's ideas and his book. Science Editor and author Sharon Begley, in a feature entitled "Survival of the Weakest. Why Neanderthals went extinct", gives a positive review of Professor Finlayson's book and his views on the subject of our evolution.

Earlier, the August issue of Scientific American carried a full story "Twilight of the Neandertals". The article starts in Gibraltar, features an interview with Professor Finlayson, and ends on the Rock. The importance of Gibraltar in this field of prehistory, the result of many years of hard work by the Gibraltar Museum, has now taken central place in the world. The full colour painting at the head of the article is an artist's impression of the view from Gorham's Cave 28 thousand years ago.

And the work on the Rock has also reached television. Last spring saw Professor Finlayson interviewed on the Rock by Dr Alice Roberts as part of the BBC Television Series "The Incredible Human Journey". And Gorham's Cave and the Gibraltar Museum were also visited and filmed by a Channel 4 team with presenter Tony Robinson this summer. This time is was for a programme that is scheduled for the autumn season on "Climate and Civilisation" in which Gibraltar will feature in the series opener.

Commenting on the recent media attention Professor Finlayson commented: "it's wonderful to see so many years of hard work and personal sacrifice paying off. It could not have been achieved without a small but highly professional team of friends and colleagues at the Gibraltar Museum. This is good science and is giving Gibraltar international marketing and exposure at the highest level."

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