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

Live Science's most-read health stories from 2023 feature Neanderthal DNA, harrowing medical case reports and curious new research findings.

What's the oldest fossil evidence humans have for our species?

A new facial reconstruction depicts a Neanderthal whose skeleton was found by priests in a French cave.

A comparison of the genomes of a Neanderthal who lived 120,000 years ago in Siberia with those from modern humans in sub-Saharan Africa has revealed insight into the migratory and interbreeding history of both species.

Ancient caves mark the beginning of recorded burial rituals, but there's still so much we don't know about the history of human graves.

Modern Europeans have a smaller proportion of Neanderthal genes in their genomes than East Asians do. New research suggests the reason lies at the feet of migrating early farmers.

Scientists analyzing cave lion bones have discovered the earliest evidence of Neanderthals hunting a cave lion, as well as the oldest example of human relatives using a lion pelt for cultural purposes.

Scientists studied genetic samples from more than 7,000 people and linked three genetic variants, inherited from Neanderthals, to increased pain sensitivity.

The hidden animals were revealed on cave walls in Spain with 'Magic Eye'-style techniques.

The human population may have lingered at about 1,300 for more than 100,000 years, and that population bottleneck could have fueled the divergence between modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans.