What is Neanderthal Man and from where comes the name?

mibmob

An early Homo Sapiens. In 1856 workers quarrying for limestone in the Neander Valley near Duesseldorf, Germany came across a skull and bones. In the succeeding years many other specimens were found, not only in the Neander Valley, but in countries such as France, England, Italy, Iraq and as far south as Israel. Nov 08 03, 12:05 PM

Siskin

...to carry on just a bit from mibmob. In 1908, French palaeontologist Marcellin Boule wrote about an almost complete Neanderthal skeleton from La Chapelle-aux-Saints, France. He published one of the first illustrations of Neanderthals alongside his scientific findings. His words were far from flattering, depicting a shuffling, bent-kneed, and hairy creature capable of "rudimentary intellectual abilities". The Neanderthal image was born. Since Boule's beastly description, scientists have worked hard to rejuvenate the Neanderthal image. Neanderthal fossils have now been unearthed from over 80 sites in Europe, the Middle East and parts of Western Asia. The total remains represent less than 500 individuals and around half of these are children. As well as these bones, several hundred thousand stone tools have been found. http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/N/neanderthal/facts/discovery/html Nov 08 03, 4:12 PM

Gnomon

Neander is the name of a river and Thal means valley. The Neanderthal was the place where the first skeleton was discovered. Neanderthal man is now considered to be a separate species from us; hairier, with a bigger thicker skull. They were more suited to cold climates and lived in Europe at a time when our species Homo Sapiens lived in Africa and hot countries. Whether they were killed off by us or not we don't know yet. Nov 10 03, 1:11 AM