Neanderthals or
Neandertals , also -, --, -, -) (named after the
Neandertal area in Germany) were a
species or
subspecies of
human in the
genus Homo which became extinct around 40,000 years ago. They were closely related to
modern humans, having
DNA over 99.5% the same. Remains left by Neanderthals include bone and stone tools, which are found in
Eurasia, from
Western Europe to
Central and
Northern Asia and the
Middle East. Neanderthals are generally classified by paleontologists as the species
Homo neanderthalensis, or alternatively a
subspecies of
Homo sapiens (
Homo sapiens neanderthalensis).