La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skull and jaw bone, museum display. This is a reproduction of parts of the original fossil (La Chapelle-aux-Saints 1), which was found in 1908 in La Chapelle-aux-Saints, France. It dates from around 50, 000 years ago. Neanderthals inhabited Europe and western Asia between 230, 000 and 29, 000 years ago. They did not use complex tools but had mastery of fire and built shelters. It is thought that they had language and a complex social structure, living in small family groups. It is not known why Neanderthals became extinct, but one theory is that they were outcompeted by modern humans (Homo sapiens). Photographed in 2014, at the Museum of Human Evolution (MEH), Burgos, Spain. |