 drawing fromCharles Lyell'sGeological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man, (1863) | |
  location in Germany Show map of North Rhine-Westphalia Kleine Feldhofer Grotte (Germany) Show map of Germany | |
| Location | nearErkrath town |
|---|---|
| Region | Neandertal,North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Coordinates | 51°13′39″N6°56′44″E / 51.22750°N 6.94556°E /51.22750; 6.94556 |
| Type | karst cave |
| History | |
| Associated with | Homo neanderthalensis |
Kleine Feldhofer Grotte was akarsticlimestone cave and apaleoanthropologic site in theNeander Valley in westernGermany. In August 1856, theNeanderthal type specimen was unearthed from the cave. Miners uncovered askull cap and a number of skeletal bones to be labeledNeanderthal. The bones belong to at least three distinct individuals.
The cave was situated in a limestone gorge with the interior dimensions of 3 m (9.8 ft) in width by 5 m (16 ft) in length by 3 m (9.8 ft) in height, and a 1 m (3.3 ft) opening 20 m (66 ft) above the valley floor in the south wall which was 50 m (160 ft) high. The cave got its name from the nearby large farm of theFeldhof.[1][2][3]
The cave was destroyed during the 19th century as a result of industrial-scalelimestonequarrying which widened the gorge. The location of the cave was soon forgotten and by 1900, unknown.
In 1997 a successful search for the site of the cave and its deposits yielded 24 fragments of human bone, one of which, identified asNN 13, fit exactly onto the left lateralfemoralcondyle of theNeanderthal 1 fossil. The 2000 excavation resulted in the recovery of thousands of artifacts. Themitochondrial DNA of two bone samples were fully sequenced, and completed in 2009.
In recent years a 25-meter tower has been built to take visitors from the floor of the quarried-out valley to the height of the original cave, and a reconstruction of the Neanderthal bones placed at the top.
