Neanderthal
Ice Age European
Neanderthal refers to an extinct human species that lived in Europe and western Asia until about 40,000 years ago, coexisting and interbreeding with modern humans.
The name comes from the Neander Valley in Germany where fossils were first identified.
In casual use, Neanderthal describes someone crude, brutish, or intellectually primitive: His Neanderthal views on women belong in another century.
This figurative sense reflects outdated stereotypes—Neanderthals were actually sophisticated toolmakers with complex social behaviors.
Bipedal primate family
- homininHuman or direct ancestor
- HomoGenus of humanity
- speciesFinest taxonomic rank
- sapiensLatin adjective meaning knowing
interbreeding · DNA · genome · hybridization · ancestry · lineage · common ancestor · divergence
Preserved ancient organism traces
- excavationAct of unearthing
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- stone toolsShaped rocks for tasks
- hand axePrimitive stone cutting tool
flint · site · specimen · remains · dating · stratigraphy · sediments · discovery
Cruel, violent person
- brutishCruel and uncivilized
- cavemanPrehistoric cave-dwelling human
- primitiveIn earliest form
- backwardToward what's behind
uncivilized · knuckle-dragger · oafish · lumbering · dimwitted · savage · crude · unsophisticated
Pre-farming subsistence lifestyle
- huntingPursuing wild game
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
- fireCombustion with flames
- shelterProtected place or structure
cave · nomadic · clan · tribe · tools · spear · animal skins · survival
Earliest archaeological era
- PleistoceneAncient glacial geological period
- Stone AgeEra of knapped tools
- ice ageEra of massive glaciation
- glaciationIce sheet spreading process
ancient · primordial · mammoth · megafauna · woolly rhinoceros · cave bear · tundra · steppe
Strong and durable
- stockyShort and solidly built
- brow ridgeBone prominence above eyes
- barrel chestRounded, deep thorax
- muscularHaving well-developed sinews
heavyset · burly · sturdy · powerful · cranial · skeletal · morphology · broad shoulders
Placing deceased underground
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- symbolismRepresenting concepts through images
- artHuman creative expression
- ornamentThing that beautifies
eagle talons · feathers · pigment · ochre · shell beads · cave painting · music · bone flute
hominid
Bipedal primate family
sapiens · interbreeding · DNA · genome · hybridization · ancestry · lineage · common ancestor · divergence · phylogeny
fossils
Preserved ancient organism traces
- excavationAct of unearthing
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- stone toolsShaped rocks for tasks
hand axe · flint · site · specimen · remains · dating · stratigraphy · sediments · discovery · cave
brute
Cruel, violent person
backward · uncivilized · knuckle-dragger · oafish · lumbering · dimwitted · savage · crude · unsophisticated · troglodyte
hunter-gatherer
Pre-farming subsistence lifestyle
shelter · cave · nomadic · clan · tribe · tools · spear · animal skins · survival · territory
Paleolithic
Earliest archaeological era
- PleistoceneAncient glacial geological period
- Stone AgeEra of knapped tools
- ice ageEra of massive glaciation
glaciation · ancient · primordial · mammoth · megafauna · woolly rhinoceros · cave bear · tundra · steppe · glacier
robust
Strong and durable
- stockyShort and solidly built
- brow ridgeBone prominence above eyes
- barrel chestRounded, deep thorax
muscular · heavyset · burly · sturdy · powerful · cranial · skeletal · morphology · broad shoulders · short limbs
burial
Placing deceased underground
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- symbolismRepresenting concepts through images
- artHuman creative expression
ornament · eagle talons · feathers · pigment · ochre · shell beads · cave painting · music · bone flute · flowers
- extinct creaturesdinosaurs, trilobites, ammonites, mammoths, pterosaurs
- Early HumansCro-Magnon, Homo erectus, Homo sapiens, Australopithecus, caveman
- European prehistoryStonehenge, megalith, dolmen, menhir, barrow
- HomininsAustralopithecus, Homo erectus, Homo, Homo sapiens, hominins
- Human SpeciesHomo sapiens, Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, modern humans
- Fossil PrimatesAustralopithecus, Homo erectus, Ardipithecus, Homo heidelbergensis, Lucy
- Neanderthal DNAGenetic material from extinct relatives