The Neanderthal Type Specimen

Record summary

The Feldhofer Cave skeleton, found in 1856, became the type specimen for what was later called Homo neanderthalensis. Its unusual anatomy prompted competing explanations, including pathological modern human, ancient human and separate human lineage interpretations. The specimen matters for the history of paleoanthropology because its meaning changed as comparative fossils, evolutionary theory and anatomical methods developed. Researchers should distinguish the original find context, later reconstruction and nineteenth-century labels from present-day questions about Neanderthal biology, taxonomy and admixture.