The Neandertha1 or Neanderthal was a species of genus Homo (Homo neanderthalensis) that inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia during the last ice age. They seem to have been well adapted to extreme cold, but appear to have had difficulty adapting to climatic changes near the end of the ice age.

The first Neanderthal fossils were found in 1856 near Düsseldorf in the Neanderthal, Germany. Their characteristic style of stone tools is called the Mousterian Culture (middle paleolithic), after another prominent archaeological site.

Neanderthals first appeared about 230,000 years ago and then disappeared about 28,000 years ago. Their brains were roughly 10 percent larger than those of modern humans. However,though anatomically similar, the brain's increased size can be negated due to their body:brain ratio. On average, Neanderthals stood about 1.65m tall (just under 5' 6") and were very well-muscled, comparable to modern weight-lifters.