Debate still rages over the relationship between Neanderthals and modern day humans.

Meaning of scientific name
"man from the Neander Valley" after the place where the first fossil was found, in Germany.

Pronunciation of scientific name
ni-AN-der-taal

Statistics
males 1.7m tall (5.6"), females 1.6m tall (5. 3")

Physical description
Neanderthals looked very like modern humans, but were generally shorter and much more heavily built. Their skulls show that they had no chin, and their foreheads sloped back. The braincase was much lower but longer, and they had slightly larger brains than modern humans. They were much stronger, having particularly strong arms and hands.

Distribution
Neanderthal remains have been found in a broad band from the middle east across to Britain and down to the northern edge of the Mediterranean. These include bones, campsites and tools but as far as we know there are no artistic representations of them.

Habitat
The valleys of Europe and the Middle East.

Diet
They were almost exclusively carnivorous, with very little vegetation in their diets.

Behaviour
There has been much debate as to what language and social capabilities the Neanderthals had, and what caused them to become extinct. Many of these debates still rage today, as Neanderthals appear to have been rather rare even at the height of their success, and so there is relatively little evidence with which to piece their lives together. It seems that although they lived in groups and had varied social systems they probably did not have a complex language like modern humans, and were not artistic or abstract in their thoughts. Their enormous strength is combined with a huge number of injuries as seen today only in rodeo riders and it seems that their hunting probably involved a lot of close contact with large animals (they did not have such accurate and sharp spears as modern humans). Both males and females appear to have hunted, with no division of labour.

Conservation status
Extinct.

Notes
The first Neanderthal remains were found in the Neander valley in Germany in 1856. Nearly 10 years later a detailed study of the bones revealed that they were different from those of modern humans, and they were given the species name Homo neanderthalensis. From then onwards there have been constant debates about the relationship between Neanderthals and ourselves.

History
They lived 300,000-28,000 years ago. Neanderthals are thought to have evolved from hominids living in the Middle East. They adapted to the cold climate of the north, whilst modern humans remained in the Middle East and warmer southern climes until about 30,000 years ago.

Closest relative
Modern humans.