| Neanderthals (nee-AN-der-tals)
lived 300,000 - 30,000 years ago. They lived in Europe, Africa and Asia. Climate changes forced the Neanderthals to move from one location to another. Some Neanderthals lived in natural caves while others made shelters for themselves out of hides and bones of big animals. |
This skull shows the lump at the back of the head where the neck muscles were attached. |
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| The normal size of a grown-up
Neanderthal was 5 feet, 5 inches. They weighed about 160 pounds. They had very
big muscles. Their foreheads sloped back and there was a lump in the back of their
skull where the neck muscles attached. They had very big brains that were developed
in the front. Neanderthals had big strong jaws and teeth. They also had big
molars. Neanderthals hunted in groups so it was safer. They were the first to take care of their sick and bury their dead. Scientists have discovered flower pollen buried with the bones of Neanderthals. Nobody really knows why the Neanderthals disappeared. It could have been that they went to war with others and lost the battle. Other hominids could have spread disease to them, or they could have joined with more modern Homo Sapiens. |
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