The Neanderthal skull was, like the skeleton, heavier than ours, but with a brain case as large or larger than the modern human average. It had a strong brow, a sloping forehead, with a protruding face. It was somewhat more round when viewed from the rear than modern man, and had a much different jaw. The Neanderthals were an intelligent species, indicated by both their large brains and evidence of sophisticated stone tools. Intelligent as they were, their lives were probably very harsh.
Most neanderthal fossils recovered seem to show signs of debilitating injury, disease, or both.
Often, Neanderthal incisors show scraping, likely caused by gripping something in the mouth and sawing at it with a stone tool. A little less than forty thousand years ago, the Neanderthals disappeared. The difficult lives they led seems to indicate that contemporary H. sapiens were better adapted to the area and replaced the Neanderthal people. There is something about the concept of an intelligent and complex animal, similar to, but not quite man that piques the interest of many people. Besides their asthetic appeal, however, they play a key role in one of anthropology's most heated debates.