Neanderthal

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/neanderthal

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Homo neanderthalensis
2. What is the geographic distribution?Primarily Europe and parts of Western and Central Asia
3. What did Neanderthals look like?Neanderthals had strong bodies, big noses, and a double‑arched brow ridge. They didn’t have a chin like modern humans. Their heads were about the same size or a little bigger than ours.
4. Did Neanderthals use tools and fire?Yes! They made sharp stone tools called Mousterian tools and used fire for warmth, light, and cooking. Cooking helped them eat food more easily.

Hominin: A group that includes modern humans and our extinct ancestors after the split from chimpanzees.
Pleistocene Epoch: The geological epoch characterized by repeated glaciations, often referred to as the Ice Age.
Lithic Technologies: The study and creation of stone tools, a primary indicator of early human behavior.
Admixture: The process of gene flow between distinct populations, such as between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.