20 Facts About Neanderthals For A Glimpse into The Lives of Our Ancestors

Neanderthals were a subspecies of humans who lived in Eurasia thousands of years ago. As expected, there are various interesting facts about them...

By Toonacious

Published 1 year ago in Wow

Neanderthals were a subspecies of humans who lived in Eurasia thousands of years ago. And, while many of us know we once shared the Earth with other hominids, there are plenty of interesting facts about them that have flown under the radar for far too long.

1
"The Oase skeletons were European modern humans dating around 40 000 years ago. They are also 5-11% Neanderthal, suggesting a Neanderthal ancestry."

2
"Neanderthal artists made oldest-known cave paintings, 20,000 years before the sapiens arrived in that region." - u/Breeze_in_the_Trees

3
"The oldest known musical instrument, a 43000 years old flute, could have been made by a Neanderthal." - u/Dontgiveaclam
4
"Wolf Cave aka Susiluola, a cave in Finland claiming to have evidence of Neanderthals pre Ice Age. The only known evidence in Nordic countries." - u/folksywisdomfromback

5
"While interbreeding occurred between neanderthals and early modern humans, the only genetic evidence of these events conserved within the human genome comes from Y chromosomal DNA meaning that all neanderthal DNA within modern humans comes from male neanderthal and female human pairings." - u/FlintKnappingWriter
6
"Neanderthals had significantly larger brains than modern humans and that our intellectual superiority is actually up for debate" - u/owen__wilsons__nose
7
"There is clear evidence that shows empathy and care towards disabled family members within early human and neanderthal groups. Individuals who could not aid in hunting and gathering still were taken care of." - u/oefiefieuwbe

8
"Neanderthals practiced cannibalism" - u/Horseahead
9
"Neanderthals are called Neanderthals because the first specimen was found in a valley in Neanderthal in Germany. The valley was called Neanderthal and spelled Neanderthaler in German, until the spelling reform of 1901." - u/amansaggu26
10
"There are 5 species of hominids' DNA in varying amounts in modern day humans- 3 highly variant Denisovans from Asia, Neanderthal, and Sapien from Africa." - u/FazedLaser

11
"Neanderthals sailed the Mediterranean. Stone tools, of the kind made by Neanderthals, were found in areas that were known to be distant islands at the time." - u/Bronesey
12
"The most recent partial Neanderthal is a four year old child buried with a seashell. The bones date around 24 500 years ago."
13
"Denny, the first remains discovered of a half-Denisovan, half-Neanderthal human" - u/msbzmsbz

14
"Hundreds of Neanderthal footprints made 80,000 years ago, 90% from children as young as two, were found on a beach in Le Rozel France" - u/ZzzzzPopPopPop
15
"Neanderthals, which were traditionally thought of as extremely primitive humans, are now believed to have been extremely intelligent, even comparable to the intelligence of modern humans. They used tools, had social structures, thrived in hostile environments, and lived long lives." - u/IanMazgelis
16
"DNA data reveals that many of us are carrying Neanderthal genes" - u/CuteBananaMuffin

17
"The average Neanderthal man had a estimated Body Mass Index of 26.9-28.2, overweight for a modern human because of their very robust build."
18
"The ancestors of Neanderthals and Denisovans interbred with a superarchaic human species that separated from other human species 2 million years ago." - u/Certified_Cichlid
19
"Pestera cu Oase. Oase 1 was a modern human dated between 37000 and 42000 years ago. He had approximately 5-11% Neanderthal genome, suggesting a recent Neanderthal ancestor. Oase 2, another skeleton, had approximately 6% Neanderthal genome." - u/Certified_Cichlid

20
"A genetic association study report indicates a risk factor of the SARS-CoV-2 was inherited from Neanderthals 60,000 years ago, and is carried by around 50% of people in south Asia and around 16% of people in Europe." - u/Movie_Advance_101