Homo neanderthalensis
Also called: Neanderthals · Topic: Prehistory: Human Origins and Stone Age Cultures · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 4 "Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation"
Meaning
Homo neanderthalensis, or the Neanderthals, were an early human species. They lived in Europe and Southwest Asia and died out c. 40,000 years ago. They made Middle Palaeolithic flake tools, which are tools shaped from thin pieces (flakes) struck off a larger stone. They lived at the same time as early Homo sapiens. DNA studies show that the two species also interbred. Neanderthals prove that different kinds of humans once shared the Earth.
Example
Flake tools in Europe and Southwest Asia mark where Neanderthals lived. By c. 40,000 years ago they had disappeared, and Homo sapiens remained as the only human species.
Don't confuse with
- Homo sapiens: Homo sapiens evolved in Africa c. 300,000 years ago. It made blades and microblades, beads and art, and it survives today. Neanderthals made flake tools and are extinct.