Michael Gee, age 11, of Caledonia, Wis., for his question:

WHO WERE THE NEANDERTHAL MEN?

Man did not begin to record his history until he invented writing, and that came about only 5,000 years ago. Scientists tell us, however, that human beings have been on earth for about 2.5 million years. The time before man began to write is called prehistory, and the term prehistoric man is used to refer to the people who lived during that period.

Prehistoric men were hunters who in time learned to plant crops and raise animals for food. The people who lived before history was recorded also invented tools and discovered how to make fire.

One type of prehistoric man was called the Neanderthal. He lived in parts of Europe, Asia and Africa from about 35,000 to 100,000 years ago.

Most scientists say that the Neanderthal man was an early subspecies of Homo sapiens, or wise men. The word Neanderthal comes from the Neander Gorge near Dusseldorf, Germany. It was here that the first Neanderthal fossil, the top of a skull, was found in 1856.

Since 1856, fossils of the Neanderthal man have been found in more than 40 other locations.

Fossils show that the Neanderthal man stood about five feet two inches tall and walked fully erect. For many years, scientists believed that he was stooped, but later evidence shows this was not the case.

The Neanderthal man had heavy bones, slightly curved limbs, big brow ridges and extremely powerful teeth. His brain was just as large as that of modern man.

Found with human fossils were stone tools and animal bones which indicate that the Neanderthalers were successful hunters in the subarctic environments of Europe. They lived in simple temporary shelters when following the animal herds and other times they lived in caves. They were also skilled fishermen.

Fossil remains also show that at least some of the Neanderthalers buried their dead with great care.

Scientists say that some people lived before or during the time of the Neanderthal man who looked more like modern man than did the Neanderthalers. Some of these people lived in Africa and southeastern Asia as early as 130,000 B.C. They had lighter builds, smaller faces and longer arms and legs than the Neanderthalers.

This early man is called the Rhodesian man. Scientists do not know how he and the Neanderthalers are related to modern man.