Darwin, DNA, and the Neanderthals
In 1856, just three years before the publication of The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, the first Neanderthal in the fossil record was discovered in the Neander Valley limestone quarry located in Germany.
In The Descent of Man, Darwin argued against the concept that the Neanderthals were humans’ ancestors based on the Neanderthal skull’s larger size. “Nevertheless,” Darwin noted,
“it must be admitted that some skulls of very high antiquity, such as the famous one of Neanderthal, are well developed and capacious.”
