Neanderthals (/neɪˈændərθɑːl, -ˈændərtɑːl/; also spelled Neandertal) were a species or subspecies of archaic Homo sapiens that went extinct about 40,000 years ago. They seem to have first appeared in the fossil record around 430,000 years ago and are last recorded around the time of their extinction. Neanderthals are known from numerous fossils found across Eurasia and North Africa, as well as through DNA evidence from the Neanderthal genome project. Remains attributed to Neanderthals include bones and stone tools found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.
The name “Neanderthal” derived from JOACHIM NEANDER (1776-1836), a German evangelical minister who discovered remains now recognized as Neanderthal in the Feldhofer Cave near Düsseldorf in 1856. The species was named after him by his colleagues Carl Fuhlrott and Hermann Schaaffhausen. Despite a strong tradition associating them with brute strength and primitiveness, recent discoveries have shown that they were actually quite similar to modern humans in many ways, including brain size, tool use, care for wounded individuals, burial practices,, etc. Recent research has also provided new insights into their origins, revealing that they are closely related to another extinct group called Denisovans..