La Chapelle-aux-Saints , cave location in the Near the village of La Chapelle-aux-Saints in the center of France where the bones of an adult Neanderthal were found in 1908. Studies on the remains published by the French anthropologist in 1911–13 Marcellin Boule became the classic description of Neanderthals in the early 20th century as apelic and evolutionarily divergent from modern humans. Despite decades of research that has revised and rejected this semi-human representation, Boule's description still remains the popular image of Neanderthals.
The well-preserved skull and less complete trunk and limb bones share a number of features in common with other Neanderthals are:stocky, cold-adjusted body proportions; a skull with a large and prominent midface (especially the teeth and nose), a rounded frown, and a large but long, low, and rounded cranium; and strong limb bones with strong attachments for the arm and hand muscles.
The skeleton from La Chapelle-aux-Saints shows that Neanderthals lived stressful lives with a high risk of injury and due to their daily Activities experienced significant physical degeneration. Such evidence includes the loss of most molars and associated degeneration of the temporomandibular joint; inflammation of the ear canals, indicating possible hearing loss; heavy Osteoarthritis a shoulder; massive osteoarthritic degeneration of the cervical vertebrae; a damaged hip joint; and a healed rib fracture. Although this individual died in his 30s, he survived for years with these degenerative conditions and injuries. The skeleton thus shows not only that Neanderthals had the physical strength to partially offset limitations in their technology, but also that they did social network , which enabled the long-term survival of injured and infirm members of the group. The skeleton also provided the first evidence of a Neanderthal burial ritual, as the body was intentionally buried in a pit in the middle of the small cave.