50 Ka
17 Sep 1909
Denis Peyrony & Louis Capitan
La Ferrassie, France
<1,600 cc
Adult, 40 - 55 yrs
Male
85
La Ferrassie 1 displays "classic" Neanderthal traits such as an occipital bun, a receding forehead, a long and low cranium, thick supraorbital tori, and relatively reduced midfacial prognathism. H. neanderthalensis have very large endocranial capacities, and La Ferrassie 1 is no exception with a relative brain size of over 1,600 cc1,2. La Ferrassie 1's teeth are heavily worn, especially the incisors which is sometimes interpreted that the individual used his teeth as if his mouth were an extra hand1. Scientists analyzed the labyrinthine inner ear structure of Le Farrassie 1, and determined that Neanderthals balanced themselves during bipedal walking in much the same way as modern humans. Neanderthals appear to run less often than modern humans, and were less active overall1.
Johanson, Donald and Blake Edgar. 2006. From Lucy to Language: Revised, Updated, and Expanded. Simon and Schuster: New York.
Klein, Richard G. 2009. The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
eFossils is a collaborative website in which users can explore important fossil localities and browse the fossil digital library. If you have any problems using this site or have any other questions, please feel free to contact us.
Funding for eFossils was provided by the Longhorn Innovation Fund for Technology (LIFT) Award from the Research & Educational Technology Committee (R&E) of the IT governance structure at The University of Texas at Austin.