Neanderthals: Facts, news, features and articles about our extinct human relatives
Latest about Neanderthals

Crimean Stone Age 'crayons' were used by Neanderthals for symbolic drawings, study claims
By Sophie Berdugo published
Scientists have discovered Stone Age "crayons" in Crimea, hinting that Neanderthals may have used them for symbolic drawings or markings. But not everyone agrees.

Did Neanderthals eat anything other than meat?
By Clarissa Brincat published
Neanderthals were meat eaters, but new analyses show that their diets included other morsels.

Neanderthals were more susceptible to lead poisoning than humans — which helped us gain an advantage over our cousins, scientists say
By James Price published
Humans and our ancestors have been exposed to lead for 2 million years, but the toxic metal may have actually helped our species to develop language — giving us a key advantage over our Neanderthal cousins, scientists claim.

Mysterious 300,000-year-old Greek cave skull was neither human nor Neanderthal, study finds
By Patrick Pester published
Researchers have dated the mysterious skull from Petralona Cave in Greece to 300,000 years ago and concluded that the fossil belonged to an ancient human group that lived alongside Neanderthals.

Gene that differs between humans and Neanderthals could shed light on the species' disappearance, mouse study suggests
By Charles Q. Choi published
A gene called ADSL, which helps synthesize DNA, differs between modern humans and our extinct human relatives. The findings could shed light on why Neanderthals vanished.

'It makes no sense to say there was only one origin of Homo sapiens': How the evolutionary record of Asia is complicating what we know about our species
By Kristina Killgrove published
As experts study the human fossil record of Asia, many have come to see it as telling a different story than what happened in Europe and Africa.

Neanderthal genes may explain disorder where brain bulges out of the skull
By Charles Q. Choi published
Neanderthal genes may explain why some people have Chiari malformation type I, a condition in which the brain bulges out of the back of the skull.

78,000-year-old footprints from Neanderthal man, child and toddler discovered on beach in Portugal
By Kristina Killgrove published
A Neanderthal trackway discovered in Portugal shows how an adult male and two children hunted for food 78,000 years ago.

Endurance athletes that carry Neanderthal genes could be held back from reaching their peak
By Amy Arthur published
A Neanderthal variant in an enzyme involved in energy production has been linked to a 50% lower probability of achieving elite athletic performance.

140,000-year-old child's skull may have been part modern human, part Neanderthal — but not everyone is convinced
By Patrick Pester published
A child buried in the world's oldest human cemetery had both modern human (Homo sapiens) and Neanderthal characteristics, suggesting she was a hybrid, according to a new study. However, not everyone is convinced the study's findings are definitive.
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