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Neandertals
different species of human. Only much later were the Gibraltar
specimens, which were lying in a museum, recognized as
also being Neandertal remains.
Then in 1856, some obviously human limb bones, pelvis,
and portion of a cranium were found by workmen excavating
the Feldhofer Grotto in a limestone cliff in Germany. The
cliff overlooked the Neander Valley (Neander-thal in German)
through which the Düssel River flows toward its confluence
with the Rhine at Düsseldorf. The valley was named
after Joachim Neander, a 17th-century teacher and theologian
who became famously controversial when he refused to
take Holy Communion. The Neander Valley was to become
famously controversial once again. The workmen brought the
bones they had unearthed to a local schoolmaster and amateur
naturalist, Johann Fuhlrott. Fuhlrott contacted Hermann
Schaaffhausen, an anatomist at the University of Bonn. The
cranium was human but had features, particularly a prominent
eyebrow ridge of bone, not found in modern people.
Fuhlrott and Schaaffhausen jointly presented the news of
the discovery to scientists in Bonn in 1857, suggesting (two
years before Charles Darwin published his famous book) that
a “barbarous and savage race” had once occupied the cave
(see Darwin, Charles; origin of species [book]). When
Huxley wrote Man’s Place in Nature in 1863, he included
a sketch of the Neander Valley specimen as evidence of the
animal origins of the human species (see Huxley, Thomas
Henry). William King, student of Charles Lyell and a professor
of geology at Queen’s College in Belfast, Ireland, proposed
the scientific name Homo neanderthalensis for this race
of people, recognizing them as a separate species.
Some scholars who maintained the separate creation
of modern humans dismissed the skeletal fragments as
being merely deformed modern individuals. (To this day,
both creationist books and some evolution museums present
reconstructed Neandertals in modern dress and grooming,
with the caption, “Have you seen this man?”). August
Mayer, a pathologist at the University of Bonn, claimed as
late as 1864 (after the publication of both Darwin’s and
Huxley’s books) that the bones were from a Cossack soldier
who was wounded in the Napoleonic war of 1814 and had
climbed into the cave to die. Huxley retorted that it was
remarkable that a mortally wounded soldier would crawl
60 feet up a cliff, remove all clothing and belongings, seal
the cave, and bury himself under two feet of soil. Another
anthropologist noted a poorly healed arm fracture and
speculated that the Neandertal had grown his brow ridge
because of frowning in pain. The anatomist Rudolf Virchow
claimed that the Neandertal specimens were merely
modern people.
But it was not long before nearly everyone recognized
that the Neandertals were a very ancient race of people. Their
physical features (described below) contrasted noticeably not
only with those of modern humans but also with the Cro-
Magnon “cave men” that also lived in Europe. In scientific
theory and in the popular mind, Neandertals were seen as
the crude ancestors of the refined and noble Cro-Magnon.
According to most scholars through the middle of the 20th
century, Neandertals evolved into modern Europeans. The
current scientific explanation is quite different and is presented
below.
Where Did Neandertals Come From?
Between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago, the hominins that
lived in Europe (usually classified as Homo heidelbergensis,
named after the Heidelberg Man fossil; see missing links)
had begun to evolve characteristics that were similar to
Neandertals; in particular, larger brains. By about 120,000
years ago, throughout Europe and adjacent regions of Asia,
the set of characteristics that scientists associate with Neandertals
had evolved. Neandertals, therefore, probably evolved
in Europe and migrated to adjacent areas.
What Did Neandertals Look Like?
Scientists have recovered bones of more than 275 individuals,
and stone artifacts from many sites occupied by Neandertals:
They had brains as large as those of modern humans.
The shape of the Neandertal brain, however, was different.
The frontal lobe was smaller (their foreheads sloped more
than those of modern humans) but the occipital lobe (in back)
was larger. Some people cite the smaller frontal lobe as evidence
of lesser intelligence, and others cite the larger occipital
lobe as evidence that Neandertals had enhanced sensory perception
(e.g., smell), but this is speculative.
Their skulls had distinctive features. In particular, they
had supraorbital processes, otherwise known as brow ridges.
Earlier hominins also had brow ridges, but the double Neandertal
brow ridge is unique. It is generally assumed that these
thick ridges protected the eyes from injury, to which Neandertals
were especially prone (see below). Other distinctive
features included the lack of a prominent chin, and very large
teeth. Wear marks on the teeth suggest that they actually used
their teeth as vise clamps by placing objects of stone or wood
or bone in their mouths and working on them with stone
tools.
They were relatively short. Neandertals were less than six
feet (2 m) in height—well within the range of modern humans,
but shorter than the average human. Their limbs were shorter
and stockier. The explanation usually given for this is that
they evolved in a cold climate. Modern humans such as the
Inuit who are physically adapted to cold climates also have
short limbs. This feature reduces the amount of surface area
that is exposed to cold conditions and therefore reduces the
loss of body heat. The Neandertals became extinct during the
most recent of the ice ages, but probably not because it was
an ice age. They had survived a previous ice age in Europe.
They had survived equally well in the relatively warm interglacial
period following the previous ice age.
They were very strong. Not only were their limbs short,
but the muscle attachment sites (recognizable on fossil bones)
were quite extensive. In fact, their muscles were apparently so
strong that continual use of muscles caused the bones to bend.
Aside from these things, scientists know little about what
the Neandertals looked like. Reconstructions usually show
them as looking like modern humans except for the skeletal