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La Ferrassie 1 is an adult male cranium of the species Homo neanderthalensis that was found during excavations in a rock shelter near La Ferrassie, France in 1909 by Denis Peyrony and Louis Capitan. The individual, La Ferrassie 1, most likely occupied Europe about 50 Ka when the western portion of the continent was covered in glaciers. The rock shelter at La Ferrassie where the cranium was discovered also yielded many other individuals, including a nearly complete adult male skeleton, a female skeleton, and five juveniles that ranged in age from prenatal to 10 years. All are believed to have occupied 6 different graves, implying that Neanderthals engaged in ritualistic funerary practices.
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La Chappelle-aux-Saints is an adult male specimen, including a nearly complete cranium and mandible along with a fairly complete skeleton that preserves more of the upper body elements than the lower body. The fossil is attributed to the species Homo neanderthalensis. La Chappelle-aux-Saints's skeleton exhibits morphologies indicative of certain ailments which were initially described as the primitive human condition 1,2. Later discoveried helped to prove these findings untrue. Mousterian lithics and faunal remains found above the skeleton, as well as ERS dating were used to date La Chappelle-aux-Saints at approximately 50 Ka2,4. The skeleton may have been part of a simple burial4.
The first Homo neanderthalensis specimen ever discovered is a skullcap known as Neanderthal 1. The specimen was found in association with several post cranial fossils in Feldhofer Cave, Germany. The quarry workers who first discovered the fossil turned the specimen over to Johann Karl Fuhlott, a local school teacher. Recognizing the specimen as a hominin, he sent the fossil to anatomist Hermann Schaffhausen, who published a description of Neanderthal 1 in 18572. Assigning a date to the fossil remains contentious since the original context of the specimen was not documented3. Carbon 14 analysis on another Neanderthal specimen recovered from the mine's dumping site resulted in an estimated age of 40 Ka6. By association, Neanderthal 1 is estimated to be date between 40 Ka and 50 Ka1.
