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‘Cro-Magnon man’
‘Cro-Magnon man’
The name given to fossil hominins found at the cave site of Cro-Magnon, near the village of Les Eyzies in the Dordogne region of France. The remains, discovered in 1868, include the skeletons of four adults and a child and are representative of what are now termed Early Modern Humans. The Cro-Magnon fossils date from about 30000 years ago, but similar modern human fossils date back at least 42000 years in Europe. They display the characteristic traits of modern humans, including a tall rounded skull with a near vertical forehead and lack of a prominent brow ridge. Genetic evidence indicates that these European ancestors lived alongside and to some extent interbred with Neanderthals until the latter went extinct around 30000 years ago.
