[PublicAdministrativeSpace:Smith, Fred H.], [PublicAdministrativeSpace:Ostendorf Smith, Maria], [PublicAdministrativeSpace:Schmitz, Ralf W.]
Chapter Title:
Human skeletal remains from the 1997 and 2000 excavations of cave deposits derived from Kleine Feldhofer Grotte in the Neander Valley, Germany
Year:
2006
Serie:
Rheinische Ausgrabungen
Volume:
58
Pages:
187-246
Publisher:
Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz am Rhein
Keywords:
human skeletal remains, Kleine Feldhofer Grotte, Neander Valley, excavations, New Neanderthal, NN, human specimens
ISBN:
ISSN:
URL:
Abstract:
Excavations during 1997 and 2000 in the deposits removed from the original Neanderthal site, Kleine Feldhofer Grotte, in 1856 yielded a series of fragmentary human skeletal remains. The 73 human specimens identified to date are designated the New Neanderthal (NN) sample. Here basic descriptions and analyses of the NN specimens are given, along with comparative assessment where appropriate. Although not all of the human specimens preserve diagnostic morphology, all that do exhibit features indicating they derive from Neanderthals. Of the NN specimens, three unquestionably connect to the original 1856 Neanderthal 1 skeleton, and several other specimens may also represent this specific individual. On the other hand, several skeletal elements in the NN sample duplicate elements present in the original Neanderthal 1 skeleton. this demonstrates the presence of at least one additional adult individual other than Neanderthal 1 in the Neander Valley sample. Also, the presence of two specimens that are likely from subadults suggest the presence of at least one non-adult individual in the sample. Implications arising from the NN sample for the understanding of the original Neanderthal locality and the historical and biological roles of Neanderthals in human evolution also are discussed.
