Neandertal Man
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Neandertal Man
The Neandertal1
or Neanderthal was a species of genus Homo
(Homo neanderthalensis) that inhabited Europe
and parts of western Asia during the last ice
age. They seem to have been well adapted to extreme cold, but
appear to have had difficulty adapting to climatic changes near
the end of the ice age.
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The first Neanderthal fossils were found in 1856
near Düsseldorf in the Neanderthal, Germany.
Their characteristic style of stone tools is called
the Mousterian Culture (middle paleolithic), after
another prominent archaeological site.
Neanderthals first
appeared about 230,000 years ago and then disappeared
about 28,000 years ago. Their brains were roughly 10 percent
larger than those of modern humans. However,
though anatomically similar, the brain's increased size
can be negated due to their body:brain ratio. On average,
Neanderthals stood about 1.65m tall (just under
5' 6") and were very well-muscled, comparable to
modern weight-lifters. |
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