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Neanderthal (Homo neanderthalensis) cranium. These three cranial bones were discovered at the Barnfield Gravel Pit, Swanscombe, Kent, UK, between 1935 and 1955. Both the date and species of these hominid remains have been the subject of debate over the last decade or so. Neanderthals were relatives of humans that inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia between about 300,000 and 24,000 years ago. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, LONDON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY)