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Neanderthals were a species that existed on Earth during human prehistory.
They lived in Western Europe during the Ice Age. (AUDIO: The Exxilons)
Biology[[edit] | [edit source]]
Neanderthals stood about 1.68 meters tall and were heavily built with stocky limbs and barrel chests. They were stronger than their Cro-Magnon neighbours and had adaptations that allowed them to survive in colder conditions. However, Neanderthals were slower-moving than Cro-Magnons and required more energy to survive, which could have led to their eventual decline. (PROSE: Prehistory Repeating Itself [+]Loading...["Prehistory Repeating Itself (feature)"]) They were distinguished from modern humans by their jutting brow ridges, large noses and stooped postures. However, while stereotyped as brutish by later humans, Nimrod showed intelligence and spoke articulately. (TV: Ghost Light [+]Loading...["Ghost Light (TV story)"])
Culture[[edit] | [edit source]]
Neanderthals used simple tools and cooked their food. These early humans lived in groups and used language. Neanderthals reached physical maturity a lot faster than Cro-Magnons and their children could be productive members of the community in half the time. (PROSE: Prehistory Repeating Itself [+]Loading...["Prehistory Repeating Itself (feature)"])
The tribe which Nimrod originally belonged to herded mammoths during the summer for food. They considered the fang of the cave bear to be a sign of wisdom. The tribal elders "spoke with the voice of the Burning One", namely Light. The actions of the Seventh Doctor implied that, at some time in the past, the Doctor had encountered the Neanderthal species some time before. (TV: Ghost Light)
According to the the Fourth Doctor, the Neanderthals could knock up a good Mammoth casserole. (PROSE: The Romance of Crime)
History[[edit] | [edit source]]
Neanderthals existed across Europe and Asia over a time span of approximately 100,000 years. (PROSE: Prehistory Repeating Itself [+]Loading...["Prehistory Repeating Itself (feature)"])
Neanderthals dated back to 200,000 BC. Here, Donna Noble broke up a fight between Ig and Og, causing the latter to take over as the head of his tribe and accidentally finding herself worshipped as a goddess for millennia. (COMIC: Untitled [+]Loading...["Untitled (DWM 598 comic story)"])
According to one account, the Tribe of Gum, whom were encountered by the First Doctor in 100,000 BC, were Neanderthals rather than early modern humans. (PROSE: The Universal Databank [+]Loading...["The Universal Databank (reference book)"])
The Fifth Doctor hoped to observe the point of first contact between the Neanderthals and the Cro-Magnons circa 40,000 BC. He failed to witness the event, not realising that his observation of them was the cause of the first contact. (PROSE: Observation)
The Eleventh Doctor arrived with Amy Pond in Birmingham during the Ice Age just in time to save a Neanderthal man from a sabre-toothed tiger. (COMIC: Snow Globe)
A Neanderthal named Das was accidentally transported from 29,185 BC to Bromley in 2006. (PROSE: Only Human)
Extinction[[edit] | [edit source]]
According to one account, the Neanderthals were mostly wiped out by the humans, with the help of the Dæmons. (TV: The Dæmons) They were believed to be wiped out around 26,000 BC. (PROSE: Only Human)
According to another account, Neanderthals were targeted by Hivers and Monaxi, who were kidnapping them and forcing to fight in gladiator-like arenas, collecting the life energy of those killed. According to this account, Neanderthals completely disappeared by around 26,900 BC. Ebonite had one such arena with multiple Neanderthal tribes under the Rockefeller Center in 21st-century New York. After the defeat of Ebonite, Effrid Blunk and his team set out on a quest to relocate Neanderthals from this Arena of Fear and ensure the survival of his kind. (COMIC: Arena of Fear)
Some Neanderthal societies, such as Enkidu's, survived well past the Palaeolithic Ice Ages. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Genesys)
In 1877, Roxton Vincey discovered a tribe of Neanderthals living on an untouched plateau east of Venezuela, untouched by modern life, naming them the Tribe of Oy. However, he also witnessed them being attacked by a giant tortoise. (COMIC: Untitled [+]Loading...["Untitled (DWM 598 comic story)"])
Nimrod was preserved as the last specimen of his species as part of the Catalogue of Life by the alien survey team headed by Light. In 1883, Josiah Samuel Smith awoke him and employed him as his butler. (TV: Ghost Light)
Other planets[[edit] | [edit source]]
Jack Harkness used the term "Neanderthals" to describe primitive humanoid inhabitants of Traxis that coexisted with dinosaurs, mammoths and robots due to a fracture in time. (COMIC: Weapons of Past Destruction)
The Fomoir had heads which were wide and squat, almost Neanderthal in appearance. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark)
K9 compared the Tarl of E9874 to Tellurian Neanderthals. (AUDIO: The Exxilons)