The first discovery of a Neanderthal was in 1829 when Philippe Charles Schmerling discovered a skulls of a few in Belgium. Schmerling was primarily a paleontologist, and even though he was considered by some to be the father of paleontology he did make this notable contribution to anthropology. Although it wouldn't be till 35 years later in 1864 that William king, a geologist and anatomist, proposed to the British association the idea that some more recent bones found in Neanderthal Germany in 1856 were not in fact human but something else entirely. He called the new species Neanderthals after the valley in which they were found. This made it so discoveries …show more content…
Over years of further analysis we’ve found all of the currently identifiable differences between our extinct cousins and us. First of all most of their features are larger or more robust than ours, especially the nose and forehead. Neanderthals lived in very cold places like Germany and Scandinavia. The further north you see Neanderthal skeletons the more cold specific adaptations you find. For instance shorter limbs so they can maintain core heat, as well as a barrel chest and reduced chin for more or less the same purpose. Even though they were barrel chested we are taller. Homo sapiens have more of a “runner’s” build if you will. Then had a much stronger “heavy set” build. The most shocking difference is that they were not the brutish stupid cavemen that most people even today think of them as. Their brains are not only equal to ours but their but based of their cranial cavity their brains are bigger! The average human brain is 1400 cubic centimeters, a Neanderthals is 1600 cubic