EHRINGSDORF SKULL

human fossil remnant, consisting of a fragmented braincase and lower jaw, found in 1925 near Weimar, Ger. The skull was found in association with a temperate forest flora and with elephant, rhinoceros, horse, and cow fossil remains; it has been dated to the last half of the Third Interglacial Period (perhaps 85,000 years ago). In the size of the browridges the Ehringsdorf skull resembles that of Neanderthal man; but with its globular cranium, vertical forehead, and pyramidal mastoid process, it approximates the skull of modern man. The Ehringsdorf skull is usually classified as an early representative of the Neanderthal people, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis.