Homo neanderthalensis Skull Forbes' Quarry Gibraltar 1

BH-040 $338.00

This Homo neanderthalensis was found in 1848 at Forbes' Quarry in Gibraltar. It was the first adult Neanderthal ever found and its significance was not recognized until eight years later, when the famous finds in the Neander Valley caused international sensation. At the time, its exact date was undetermined but recent modern DNA techniques have confirmed that Gibraltar 1 is an adult female and genetically more similar to European and Asian Neanderthals than other Neanderthals found in Spain, with a rough age estimation of 60,000 to 120,000 years old. It exhibits the typical Neanderthal face, with a projecting midface and nose, and prominent browridge. It has been assumed that Gibraltar was the last refuge site of the Neanderthals before their extinction, but this current data suggests that Gibraltar 1 is from an earlier population.

The Bone Clones® Fossil Hominid line is composed of discoveries from anatomically modern humans, archaic humans, early Homo, early hominins, and other hominids. The majority of the casts in this line have been recreated by our team of anatomical sculptors. Some are reconstructions made by anthropology professionals using fragmentary elements from original discoveries and extrapolating the missing parts from those (i.e. Neanderthal skeleton).

2-part skull (separate cranium & jaw).

Custom display stand available below.

Busk G. 1865. On a very ancient cranium from Gibraltar. Report of the 34th Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (Bath, 1864):91-92.

Finlayson C. et al. 2006. Late survival of Neanderthals at the southernmost extreme of Europe. Nature443,7113:850-853.