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

Latest about Neanderthals

An older woman wearing a blue jumper is shown speaking at a dinner table. She is gesturing with her hands as she speaks.

'Speech gene' seen only in modern humans may have helped us evolve to talk

By Emily Cooke published

A specific gene variant seen in people is likely one of many that contributed to the development of language in modern humans, scientists say. And it changes how mice squeak.

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Neanderthals
A picture shows the rebuilt skull of a 75,000-year-old Neanderthal woman, named Shanidar Z, after the cave in Iraqi Kurdistan where her skull was found in 2018, at the University of Cambridge, eastern England, on April 25, 2024.

Neanderthal quiz: How much do you know about our closest relatives?

By Kristina Killgrove published

Quiz Think you know everything about Neanderthals? Take our quiz to find out.

Quiz
Two skull replicas sit on a white table. The one in the foreground is a Neanderthal, while the one in the background is an early Homo sapiens.

Neanderthals' blood type may help explain their demise, new study finds

By Kristina Killgrove published

Human populations that left Africa evolved quickly whereas Neanderthals stayed the same, according to an analysis of blood group systems.

Neanderthals
A small family of early modern humans stands on a mountain looking out over a valley

From 'the last Neanderthal' to sacrifices in Peru: Our biggest archaeology stories of 2024

By Laura Geggel published

Here are our biggest archeology stories of 2024.

Neanderthals
A reconstruction of a late Neanderthal from El Salt.

10 fascinating discoveries about Neanderthals in 2024, from 'Thorin' the last Neanderthal to an ancient glue factory

By Kristina Killgrove published

This year, we learned that our Neanderthal cousins were a lot like us, despite treading their own path that ended in extinction.

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A side-by-side comparison of a Neanderthal and human skull

Are Neanderthals and Homo sapiens the same species?

By Amanda Heidt last updated

Scientists have been vollying the question back and forth for more than a century.

Neanderthals
A man and a boy standing together. The boy is holding a Neanderthal axe head.

Rock found by a 6-year-old on a beach is actually a 50,000-year-old Neanderthal ax

By Margherita Bassi published

The 6-year-old boy found the rock and then didn't tell anyone for three years. But a new examination reveals it was made by some of the last Neanderthals.

Neanderthals
A Neanderthal man crouches around a fire

65,000-year-old hearth in Gibraltar may have been a Neanderthal 'glue factory,' study finds

By Kiona Smith published

Neanderthals may have used specialized hearths to make tar around 65,000 years ago, a new study finds.

Neanderthals
metal pan containing stone tools and artifacts from Tajikistan, 150,000 to 20,000 years old.

150,000-year-old rock-shelter in Tajikistan found on 'key route for human expansion' used by Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans

By Sierra Bouchér published

A newfound rock-shelter in Tajikistan has artifacts created by ancient humans spanning 130,000 years.

Neanderthals
A photo of a brownish Neanderthal skull on a white background

Neanderthals and modern humans interbred 'at the crossroads of human migrations' in Iran, study finds

By Kristina Killgrove published

A new ecological model suggests Neanderthals and modern humans interbred in the Zagros Mountains in what is now Iran before going their separate ways 80,000 years ago.

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