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

Stunning facial reconstructions of 'hobbit,' Neanderthal and Homo erectus bring human relatives to life
By Aristos Georgiou published
A new documentary brings early human history to life with a "scientifically accurate" collection of hyper-real 3D models.

125,000-year-old 'fat factory' run by Neanderthals discovered in Germany
By Perri Thaler published
An analysis of ancient animal bones found in Germany suggests that Neanderthals extracted grease from them to gobble up 125,000 years ago.

Who were the Denisovans, archaic humans who lived in Asia and went extinct around 30,000 years ago?
By Charles Q. Choi last updated
Who were the Denisovans, close human relatives who lived in Asia and mated with Homo sapiens?

43,000-year-old human fingerprint is world's oldest — and made by a Neanderthal
By Tom Metcalfe published
The discovery of a 43,000-year-old fingerprint in Spain is challenging the idea that Neanderthals were not capable of symbolic art.

140,000-year-old bones of our ancient ancestors found on sea floor, revealing secrets of extinct human species
By Patrick Pester published
Researchers have recovered Homo erectus bones from the seafloor, which points to an unknown hominin population hunting on land that is now underwater in Southeast Asia.

Ancient jawbone dredged off Taiwan seafloor belongs to mysterious Denisovan, study finds
By Kristina Killgrove published
Researchers have determined that a mysterious jawbone discovered on the seafloor off the coast of Taiwan was Denisovan, proving that the archaic humans were distributed widely over Asia.

Neanderthals, modern humans and a mysterious human lineage mingled in caves in ancient Israel, study finds
By Charles Choi published
A newly excavated cave in Israel holds burials and artifacts suggesting that multiple human species commingled and shared ideas there during the Paleolithic.

East Asians who can digest lactose can thank Neanderthal genes
By Emily Cooke published
Unique versions of the lactase gene found in the genomes of East Asian people may have increased in prevalence within the population over time because they bolstered immune responses against pathogens, new data reveal.

28,000-year-old Neanderthal-and-human 'Lapedo child' lived tens of thousands of years after our closest relatives went extinct
By Kristina Killgrove published
Researchers used a novel method of radiocarbon dating to figure out the age of the Lapedo child, who had both Neanderthal and human traits.

Neanderthal 'population bottleneck' around 110,000 years ago may have contributed to their extinction
By Kristina Killgrove published
A study of the inner ear bones of Neanderthals shows a significant loss of diversity in their shape around 110,000 years ago, suggesting a genetic bottleneck that contributed to Neanderthals' decline.
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
