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Homo neanderthalensis: Neanderthal 1

  • Geologic Age: Perhaps 40 - 50 Ka, stratigraphic context unknown
  • Discovery Date: August 1856
  • Discovered By: Miners in a limestone cave
  • Discovery Location: Felderhofer Grotto, Düsseldorf, Neander Valley, Germany
  • Cranial Capacity: 1525 cc
  • Specimen Age: Adult

    The holotype, Neanderthal 1, displays "classic" Neanderthal characteristics often found in Western European specimens. The skullcap has a pronounced, double-arched browridge, a low receding forehead, a long low braincase, and bulging sidewalls2. Neanderthal 1 is of particular importance as its discovery prompted research in paleoanthropology and brought a scientific approach to the study.

    1. Johanson D and Edgar B. 2006. From Lucy to Language: Revised, Updated, and Expanded. New York: Simon and Schuster.
    2. Klein RG. 2009. The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins. Third Edition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press
    3. Schwartz JH and Tattersall I. 2002. The Human Fossil Record (Volume One): Terminology and Craniodental Morphology of Genus Homo (Europe). Hoboken: Wiley-Liss

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