Expert: John Shea - 2/18/2007

Question
I would like to know as much as possible about Homo neanderthalensis. Im not interested in technical stuff, I want to know more about its appearance, behavior, diet, habitat, interactions with other animals (specially predators), etc. You know, the kind of things you would like to know about a living animal. I know these things are difficult to know because, well, they are extinct, but even some realistic speculations will do.

Thank you, and I hope you can help me!

Answer
Dear Dewey
There are literally thousands of references on this subject.  The reconstructions you seem to be seeking are based on "technical stuff", and unless you know the assumptions involved in these technical studies, it is easy to accept conjectural reconstructions of Neandertal life and behavior as more realistic than they actually are.
A good, if somewhat out-of-date, reference is Chris Stringer and Clive Gamble's book, In Search of the Neanderthals.  Ian Tattersall's book the Last Neanderthal is pretty good, too.  For college-level detailed information, you might have a look at Richard Klein's book, The Human Career (the texbook I use in my classes).
For reconstructions of Neandertal life, I think the BBC Horizon "Neandertal" program got it pretty much right.  You can look up this information on BBC website.
For up-to-the-minute research, your best source of information on Neandertals are links on the webpage of the Neandertal Museum in Germany.
If you're interested, my own purely conjectural response to your question would be:
appearance: probably pale-skinned, with eye, hair pigmentation variable, like among recent Europeans.  Height varies (taller to south, shorter to north) but physique very strong among men, women, and children from a very yound age.
behavior: probably lived in small groups (10s or fewer) of mostly near-kin and mates with flexible membership.
Diet: A lot of big-game hunting (deer, aurochs, horse, rhino, mammoth), not much emphasis on small game.  Plant component of diet varies geographically (greater in south, less in north).
Habitat: woodlands and steppe throughout western Eurasia.  Dry areas seem to have been a problem, so little occupation of tundra or desert.
Interactions with predators:  Predators tend to leave each other alone if possible.  Juvenile and old/injured Neands. were probably fair game for wolves, lions, hyena, but adult Neands were probably the apex predators of their ecosystems.
Cheers,
John Shea




Sincerely,
John Shea