Baby Neanderthal's Skeleton Found

The beautifully preserved and extremely rare skeleton of a newborn Neanderthal, thought to have been lost to science for almost 90 years, has been rediscovered. It could lead to new insights into the evolution of modern humans and our relationship with our extinct cousins.

The fossil is of a baby Neanderthal that was just four months old when it died. It is called Le Moustier 2 after its discovery in 1914 in an exposed cliff near Le Moustier in the Dordogne, southwest France.

A few years after it was found, the fossil vanished and some scientists believed it had been taken to a Paris museum. But in 1996, the fossil remains of a newborn Neanderthal were discovered among the archives of the National Museum of Pre-history in Les Eyzies in the Dordogne. Modern dating techniques suggest that it is about 40,000 years old.

Writing in the journal Nature, Bruno Maureille of the University of Bordeaux in Talence confirms that the Dordogne skeleton is that of Le Moustier 2. In addition, other bones from a newborn Neanderthal at another museum in France have been found to be from the same skeleton.

Reunited with its missing bones, Le Moustier 2 only lacks shoulder blades and its pubic bone, making it one of the most complete Neanderthal skeletons ever found.

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Khorsheed.com - Sep 2002