Neanderthal

Neanderthal , small valley, W Germany, E of Düsseldorf. In 1856 the remains of Neanderthal man were discovered there.

Neanderthal an extinct human that was widely distributed in ice age Europe between c.120,000–35,000 years ago, with a receding forehead and prominent brow ridges. The Neanderthals were associated with the Mousterian flint industry of the Middle Palaeolithic.

In figurative use, the name may be applied to someone considered uncivilized, unintelligent, or uncouth.

The name comes (in the mid 19th century) from Neanderthal, the name of a region in Germany, where remains of Neanderthal man were found.

Neanderthal Middle Palaeolithic variety of human, known from fossils in Europe and Asia. Neanderthals were discovered when a skeleton was unearthed in the Neander Valley in w Germany in 1856. The bones were thick and powerfully built and the skull had a pronounced brow ridge. Neanderthals are now considered to be a separate species of human, possibly a local adaptation during the Ice Ages, and are not thought to be ancestral to modern humans. Neanderthals predated modern humans in Europe, but were superseded by them c.35,000 years ago. See also human evolution