La Ferrassie 1, Neanderthal Man, Fossil Hominid
name: label: Collector
content: C. Louis & D. Peyrony
label: Discipline
content: Anthropology
label: Region
content: European Region
notes: label: Description
content: This object is part of the Education and Outreach collection, some of which are in the Q?rius science education center and available to see.
label: Geologic Age
content: Pleistocene
label: Notes
content: Brown plastic cast cranium of La Ferrassie 1, from the species Homo neanderthalensis. One of the most important individuals found at La Ferrassie is La Ferrassie 1, the skeleton of an adult male. His skull, the largest and most complete Neanderthal skull ever found (in 1909), has many of the typical Neanderthal traits such as the low, sloping forehead and large nasal opening. His teeth, which are all preserved, are heavily worn, indicating he was older at the time of his death. His front incisors show a slanted wear that does not occur from chewing; one hypothesis to explain this odd wear on his teeth is that he habitually held something in place between his front teeth, such as a hide, that he then scraped with a tool. Although this hypothesis has been debated, the use of the teeth as tools may represent a remarkable Neanderthal behavioral adaptation. Black paint represents missing pieces. La Ferrassie 1 is between 70,000 and 50,000 years old.
label: Number of objects in this record
content: 1
label: Record Last Modified
content: 28 Mar 2023
place: label: Collecting Locality
content: La Ferrassie Cave, Europe, France
topic: label: Topic
content: Education & Outreach
setName: label: See more items in
content: Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center
publisher: label: Scientific Name
content: Homo neanderthalensis
identifier: label: USNM Number
content: EO400972
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Education and Outreach collections
taxonomicName: label: Taxonomy
content: Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Tetrapoda, Mammalia, Theria, Primates, Hominidae
physicalDescription: label: Is this real?
content: No, it's a cast.
label: Life Stage
content: Adult
label: Material
content: Plastic, Paint
label: Sex
content: Male