Amongst all the discoveries, some of them have been dated relatively accurately, whilst others have been placed in a
wider range of possibilities, as the context of the fossil’s discovery has been lost.
If we stick to the surest dates, the oldest Neandertal recognised to date is Saccopastore Man, who was discovered in 1929
near Rome. The fossil was dated as being 255,000 years old in 2015 from several dating methods that have given consistent results.
The first Neandertals must therefore have existed further back in time and are at least 300,000 years old. The most recent
Neandertals are 40,000 years old: they are those of Spy and Fonds-de-Forêt (Belgium) and Figueira Brava (Portugal).
