Homo sapiens neanderthalensis--"Neanderthal Man"--was a robust human species occupying Europe and western Asia from approximately 135,000 to 30,000 years ago. They flourished in both warm interglacial periods and in the challenging conditions of glacial advance.

At first glance, Neanderthal remains appear primitive and crude, rather like Homo erectus and quite different from modern humans. Their arm and leg bones were, in fact, approximately twice as thick as ours, suggesting their immense strength and the rugged conditions of their existence. Otherwise, their bodies are strikingly modern. They had prominent noses, long faces with sloping foreheads and big skulls. Their average brain capacity (1400-1500 cc) actually exceeds that of modern humans-- although the configuration of parts of the brain is different. The speech areas of the Neanderthal brain are not as developed as ours and the forebrain is smaller.

The Neanderthal were the first humans to live in Ice Age

The necklace at far right contains the claws and teeth of cave bear and the teeth of a lion. Human beings are probably unique in their response to predators--the animals which prey upon them: humans actively seek out and attack feared predators and attempt to magically appropriate their powers by consuming their flesh or adorning themselves with symbols of their strength.

The painting on the right illustrates present knowledge of Neanderthal anatomy and a tentative reconstruction of their social life. Here at a cave site in what is now the Czech Republic, a mature female oversees the distribution of food to an extended kinship group. Instead of a stooped, debased, and brutal ancestor, these Neanderthals are depicted as close cousins of modern humans--a separate subspecies but nevertheless "Homo sapiens" like ourselves.

Skull size, tools, and distinctive features

Homo sapiens sapiens: Distribution and design of cave art

conditions, surviving by hunting the largest and most formidable Pleistocene mammals--the mammoth, wooly rhinoceros, and wild cattle. They competed with large wolves and lions in an extremely harsh Ice Age environment.

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Approximate Word count = 1792
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)