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Neanderthal: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Neanderthal
The first recognized Neanderthal fossil, known as Neanderthal 1, was discovered in 1856 in the Neander Valley of Germany, yet for decades it was dismissed as a deformed modern human or a pathological specimen. Local schoolteacher Johann Carl Fuhlrott identified the bones in the Kleine Feldhofer Grotte and passed them to German anthropologist Hermann Schaaffhausen, who recognized their distinctiveness from living humans. The specimen included a cranium, thigh bones, right arm, left humerus and ulna, left ilium, part of the right shoulder blade, and pieces of ribs. Despite this evidence, pathologist Rudolf Virchow argued in 1872 that the features were merely signs of senility, disease, and malformation rather than a distinct species. This skepticism stalled research for nearly thirty years, allowing the idea of Neanderthals as a primitive lower race to take root in the public imagination. The valley itself was named after Joachim Neander, a late 17th-century German theologian and hymn writer whose grandfather had changed the family name from Neumann to Neander to align with the Graeco-Roman form meaning man. The spelling Neanderthal was later anglicized, though the scientific name Homo neanderthalensis retains the th according to the principle of priority.
The Ape-Like Myth
By the early 20th century, French palaeontologist Marcellin Boule had cemented the image of Neanderthals as slouching, ape-like creatures destined to die out. Boule's reconstruction of the French specimen La Chapelle-aux-Saints 1, dubbed The Old Man, depicted a creature with a bent spine and forward-thrusting head, suggesting a slow, clumsy gait. This interpretation dominated discussions of human evolution for decades, positioning Neanderthals as an evolutionary dead-end phase between ape-like ancestors and modern humans. The hypothesis was bolstered by the discovery of the Piltdown Man hoax, which was falsely linked to the Neanderthal lineage, and the marginalization of evidence from East Asia. It was not until the 1970s, with the formulation of cladistics and the refinement of anatomical definitions, that this global morphological pattern fell apart. Researchers began to see Neanderthals not as a primitive stage but as a unique species adapted to the cold, with a brain volume averaging 1,520 cubic centimeters for males and 1,300 cubic centimeters for females, significantly larger than the averages for all living human populations. The brain organization differed from modern humans in areas related to cognition and language, which may explain the comparative simplicity of Neanderthal behavior in the archaeological record.
The Hyper-Arctic Body
Neanderthals were built for survival in a harsh, cold environment, evolving a hyper-arctic physique that included a deep and wide chest, short limbs, and a high density of fast-twitch muscle fibers. Their average height was 164 centimeters for males and 157 centimeters for females, with a body mass index ranging from 26.9 to 28.3, making them stockier and more robust than modern humans. This build, known as Allen's rule, allowed them to conserve heat more efficiently, but it also meant they had much higher caloric demands and were effective sprinters rather than endurance runners. Their large, wide noses were an adaptation to warm greater quantities of cold air to fuel their assumed heightened metabolism. Despite their robust build, Neanderthals suffered a high rate of traumatic injury, with an estimated 79 to 94 percent of specimens showing evidence of healed major trauma. One extreme example is Shanidar 1, who shows signs of an amputation of the right arm likely due to a nonunion after breaking a bone in adolescence, osteomyelitis on the left clavicle, an abnormal gait, vision problems in the left eye, and possible hearing loss. The high trauma rate may be ascribed to a dangerous hunting strategy or frequent animal attacks, yet they managed to survive these injuries, indicating long-term treatment and social support.
Common questions
When was the first Neanderthal fossil discovered and where was it found?
The first recognized Neanderthal fossil, known as Neanderthal 1, was discovered in 1856 in the Neander Valley of Germany. Local schoolteacher Johann Carl Fuhlrott identified the bones in the Kleine Feldhofer Grotte and passed them to German anthropologist Hermann Schaaffhausen.
What was the average brain volume of male and female Neanderthals?
Neanderthal brain volume averaged 1,520 cubic centimeters for males and 1,300 cubic centimeters for females. These measurements are significantly larger than the averages for all living human populations.
How tall were male and female Neanderthals on average?
The average height of Neanderthals was 164 centimeters for males and 157 centimeters for females. Their body mass index ranged from 26.9 to 28.3, making them stockier and more robust than modern humans.
When did the first Neanderthal genome sequence get published?
The first Neanderthal genome sequence was published in 2010 and strongly indicated interbreeding between Neanderthals and early modern humans. Neanderthal-derived genes descend from at least two interbreeding episodes outside of Africa, one about 250,000 years ago and another 40,000 to 54,000 years ago.
When did Neanderthals go extinct and what caused their extinction?
The extinction of Neanderthals occurred roughly 40,000 years ago with the immigration of modern humans. This extinction is ascribed predominantly to competition with modern humans, their low population, and resulting mutational meltdown.
The Neanderthal brain was larger than that of modern humans, yet its organization differed in areas related to cognition and language, which may explain the comparative simplicity of Neanderthal behavior in the archaeological record. While the hyoid bone is almost identical to that of modern humans, this does not provide insight into the entire vocal tract. Neanderthals had the FOXP2 gene, which is associated with speech and language development, but not the modern human variant. It is unclear if Neanderthals had the capacity for complex language, but some researchers argue that they required complex communications to discuss locations, hunting, and tool-making techniques to survive in their harsh environment. In experiments with modern humans, the Levallois technique can be taught with purely observational learning without spoken instruction. Neanderthals manufactured Middle Palaeolithic stone tools, and are associated with the Mousterian industry, specifically the Levallois technique. After developing this technology from the Acheulean industry, there is a 150,000-year stagnation in Neanderthal stone tool innovation. Stalled technological growth may have followed from their low population, impeding complex ideas from being spread across their range or passed down generationally. Neanderthals normally collected raw materials from a nearby source, no more than 20 kilometers, and some communities were also making tools from shells and
The Silent Minds
bone.
Neanderthals, probably uncommonly, buried their dead, which may explain the abundance of fossil remains. The dead were buried in simple, shallow graves and pits, but special care seems to have been given to child graves. The graves of children and infants, especially, are associated with grave goods such as artifacts and bones. One grave in Shanidar Cave, Iraq, was associated with the pollen of several flowers that may have been in bloom at the time of deposition, including yarrow, centaury, ragwort, grape hyacinth, joint pine, and hollyhock. The medicinal properties of the plants led American archaeologist Ralph Solecki to claim that the man buried was some leader, healer, or shaman, and that the association of flowers with Neanderthals adds a whole new dimension to our knowledge of his humanness. It is also possible the pollen was deposited by a small burrowing rodent after the man's death. Neanderthals collected non-functional, uniquely-shaped objects, namely shells, fossils, and gems, and some shells may have been painted. A 2020 study found evidence of a 3-ply cord fragment made from conifer inner-bark fibers at Abri du Maras, France, which can be used to knit light items, such as strings for hanging beads. 115,000-year-old perforated shell beads from Cueva Antón were possibly strung together
The Buried Dead
to make a necklace. Neanderthals used ochre, a clay earth pigment, though it is unclear if this constitutes evidence of artmaking because modern humans have used red ochre for decorative or symbolic coloration, as well as for medicine, hide tanning agent, food preservative, and insect repellent.
The first Neanderthal genome sequence was published in 2010, and strongly indicated interbreeding between Neanderthals and early modern humans. Neanderthal-derived genes descend from at least two interbreeding episodes outside of Africa, one about 250,000 years ago and another 40,000 to 54,000 years ago. An individual whose ancestry lies beyond sub-Saharan Africa may carry about 2 percent of Neanderthal DNA, and Sub-Saharan Africans can carry Neanderthal DNA presumably descending from back migration. In all, approximately 20 percent of the Neanderthal genome appears to have survived in the modern human gene pool. This Neanderthal DNA is derived primarily from the children of female modern humans and male Neanderthals. Due to their low population and proliferation of deleterious mutations, many Neanderthal genes were probably selected out of the modern human gene pool. Similarly, a large portion of surviving introgression appears to be non-coding junk DNA with few biological functions. Some Neanderthal-derived genes, nonetheless, may have functional implications related to metabolism, brain function, and skeletal and muscular development. Some genes may have helped immigrating modern human populations acclimatize faster, such as genes related to immune response. Neanderthals in the Siberian Altai Mountains interbred with the local Denisovan population, and it may have been a common occurrence here. About 17 percent of the
The Genetic Legacy
genome of one Altai Denisovan specimen derived from Neanderthals.
The extinction of Neanderthals was part of the broader Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinction event, occurring roughly 40,000 years ago with the immigration of modern humans. Neanderthals were replaced by modern humans, indicated by the near-complete replacement of Middle Palaeolithic Mousterian stone technology with modern human Upper Palaeolithic Aurignacian stone technology across Europe from 39,000 to 41,000 years ago. Neanderthals may have persisted in Spain for longer, but the dates of the latest Mousterian and earliest Aurignacian are poorly constrained. In Catalonia and Aragón, the Mousterian may have survived to about 39,000 years ago, and in southern Spain and Gibraltar potentially 32,000 to 35,000 years ago. The extinction of Neanderthals is ascribed predominantly to competition with modern humans, whose success is usually attributed to a higher birth rate and population, facilitated by better long-distance mobility and more complex technologies and subsistence strategies. Some Neanderthal populations may have also been assimilated into modern human populations rather than being ecologically outcompeted. Neanderthal extinction has also been ascribed to their low population as well as the resulting mutational meltdown, making them less adaptable to major environmental changes or new diseases introduced by immigrating modern humans. If areas were depopulated of Neanderthals as a consequence of climate change or a natural disaster, Neanderthals
The Final Extinction
may not have been as fast as modern humans in recolonizing. The Laschamp event 39,000 to 42,000 years ago may have increased ultraviolet radiation, disproportionately affecting Neanderthals who lacked protective fitted clothes, and may not have utilized ochre as sunscreen to the extent Cro-Magnons did.