Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Homo Neanderthalensis


Nickname:


Neanderthal


Where Lived:


Europe and southwestern to central Asia


When Lived:


200,000 - 28,000 years ago


The first Neanderthal remains were recognized in Germany in 1856 and presented at a meeting of the Lower Rhine Medical and Natural History Society held in Bonn in February 1857, and named a species, Homo neanderthalensis, by William King in 1864. In 1887, two complete skeletons were found in a cave near Spy in Belgium, and more from sites in France in 1887, 1908 and 1911. Most of these fossils were found in caves. The first Neanderthal skull discovered in modern times hid in a cave in Engis, Belgium until a local doctor Phillipe-Charles Schmerling pulled it out in 1829. It was the crania of a 2-3 year old Neanderthal child, however it was not recognized as such until 1936. Neanderthals occupied Europe from about 800,000 to 30,000 years ago.


1848: Forbes Quarry, Gibraltar: discovery of a skull. One of most complete Neanderthal crania ever found, it was recognized in 1863 by George Busk as similar in form to the skull from the Neander Valley.


1856: Feldhofer Grotto, Neander Valley, Germany: Johann Karl Fuhlrott first recognizes the fossil called “Neanderthal man.”


1866: Trou de La Naulette Cave, Belgium: Edouard Dupont discovers a mandible (lower jaw), ulna (one of two forearm bones) and metacarpal (hand-bone) in association with bones of extinct animals. First Neanderthal remains to be generally accepted as of great antiquity and different anatomy than modern humans.


1874: Pontnewydd, Wales: Discovery of Neanderthal fossils.


1876: Rivaux, S. France: Discovery of Neanderthal fossils.


1880: Šipka, Moravi: Karel Maška. The lower jaw or mandible of a Neanderthal child was found in a secure context, associated with cultural debris, including hearths, Mousterian tools, and bones of extinct animals.


1886: Betche-aux-Rotches cave, Spy d'Orneau, Belgium: Marcel de Puydt & Max Lohest find two nearly complete Neanderthal skeletons in association with Mousterian tools. The publication of these remains established Neanderthals as a separate type of ancient human, rather than pathological modern humans. Unfortunately, the limb-bones were misinter- preted as indicating that Neanderthals walked with bent knees in an ape-like posture.



This is a list of archeological sites where remains and/or tools of Neanderthals were found.
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