Neanderthals inhabited Eurasia from roughly 200,000 to 40,000 years ago, possessing a robust physical structure adapted to the challenging environments of the Pleistocene. While their fossil record shows they were physically imposing, the exact nature of their movement, especially how fast they could run, remains a central question for scientists. Determining precise running speeds is difficult since researchers must rely on biomechanical modeling and extrapolations from skeletal remains to reconstruct their locomotion.
Skeletal Adaptations for Locomotion
The Neanderthal skeleton was built for power and stability, exhibiting a stocky, muscular physique often described as barrel-chested and broad-hipped. Their bones were thicker and denser than those of modern humans, particularly in the femur and tibia, providing immense structural support for a greater overall body mass. The sites where muscles attached to the bones, known as entheses, were notably rugose, indicating they anchored exceptionally large and powerful muscle groups in the legs and torso. This robusticity suggests a capacity for handling high mechanical loads and generating considerable force with each movement.
A key difference lies in their limb proportions, specifically the shorter distal segments of their limbs, such as the shins and forearms, a trait often linked to cold-climate adaptation. While shorter limbs reduce the length of the stride, they increase the mechanical advantage of the muscles by creating a greater moment arm at the knee and ankle. This design favored powerful, rapid acceleration and a lower center of gravity, which would have been advantageous for stability on the uneven, rugged terrain they often inhabited. Their foot structure also reflected this focus on stability, featuring wider feet and a longer heel bone, or calcaneal tuber, compared to modern humans.
Estimating Maximum Speed and Endurance
Modeling suggests that Neanderthals were capable of impressive maximum speeds over very short distances. Some biomechanical models estimate that a Neanderthal could have reached a top sprint speed between 20 and 25 miles per hour in short bursts. This theoretical peak speed places them within the range of elite modern human athletes, emphasizing their capacity for explosive, short-duration force. This power running was perfectly suited to their suspected hunting strategy of ambush in the dense European woodlands, where a sudden burst of speed was needed to overpower large prey at close range.
Despite this high potential for sprinting, their morphology presented clear limitations for endurance running. The Neanderthal’s shorter stride length, a result of their compact limb proportions, meant they required a higher, metabolically expensive stride frequency to maintain speed. Furthermore, the longer calcaneal tuber characteristic of the Neanderthal heel resulted in a less efficient Achilles tendon moment arm. This anatomical configuration diminished the tendon’s ability to store and release elastic energy, dramatically increasing the energy cost of sustained movement. The overall genetic profile of Neanderthals also shows a greater prevalence of variants associated with power and strength, aligning with a creature built for burst rather than stamina.
Comparing Running Efficiency to Modern Humans
Anatomically modern humans, Homo sapiens, evolved bodies for superior long-distance endurance. Modern humans possess a narrower pelvis and proportionally longer, lighter lower limbs, which facilitate a longer, more energy-efficient stride. The heel structure of Homo sapiens is optimized for elastic recoil, featuring a shorter calcaneal tuber that maximizes the spring-like action of the Achilles tendon. This natural spring reduces the energy required to run over extended periods, a feature selected for during the evolution of persistence hunting in open grassland environments.
Neanderthals, with their wide, robust build, shorter limbs, and power-focused joint mechanics, were inherently less efficient at covering long distances. Although their robusticity provided stability and power, their high metabolic cost of running meant that a modern human could easily outpace them over medium to long distances. While a Neanderthal was capable of an initial burst of speed for an ambush, they were built like a powerful linebacker, whereas Homo sapiens evolved with the body type of a highly efficient marathon runner.