Where the Neanderthals Lived
The Neanderthals evolved in Europe, and spread outward from Europe into parts of Asia. They did not spread into Africa, shaping the genes of different groups of people even today. The first identified Neanderthal skull was found in the Neander Valley of Germany. By 130,000 years ago, the Neanderthals had spread across a very wide geographic area, and were the dominant hominid species in the region. They maintained this dominance for some 85,000 years.
Neanderthals lived throughout Western, Central, Eastern, and Mediterranean Europe,as well Southwest, Central, and Northern Asia up to the Altai Mountains in Siberia. No Neanderthal has ever been found outside Western Eurasia. Their boundaries were to the south of Jerusalem (Shuqba), the eastern border of Kazakhstan (Denisova, Russia), and, in the United Kingdom, Wales. The final northern boundary of the Neanderthal peoples is unknown; there’s little survival of remains in the far northern regions of Russia, for instance. The Neanderthals never left Eurasia, and the range of individual family groups is unknown. Their range supports their overall success; groups held and controlled large amounts of land. They were skilled hunters and survivalists, able to adapt and change over time.
While the Neanderthals were well-adapted to the cold temperatures found in Eurasia during the period, times of extreme cold were particularly challenging. When remains of Neanderthals are analyzed, evidence of nutritional stress in the bones directly correlates to periods of extreme cold. When temperatures were colder, food was less accessible. This may have led to additional migrations or to eventual higher rates of death. Evidence of migration can be seen in the most recent sites occupied by Neanderthals. There is no evidence of late period habitation by Neanderthals in Western, Central or Eastern Europe, but late sites do include Gibraltar and far northern sites in Russia.