[The skull of Combe Capelle].
Since the end of World War II two of the most important anthropological artefacts of the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte in Berlin, the skulls and skeletons of Le Moustier and Combe Capelle, were believed to be missing or destroyed, respectively. The postcrania were severely damaged during a fire after the museum was bombed in February 1945, while the skulls were brought to the Soviet Union in 1945. In 1965, the skull of the Neanderthal man from Le Moustier and the chain of the grave of Combe Capelle were found amongst the art objects returned by the Soviet Union into the German Democratic Republic in 1958. However, the Combe Capelle skull was still missing. In the end of 2001 this skull could be found and identified in a store-house of the museum. Now, one the oldest known representatives of Homo sapiens sapiens is again available for scientific research and public exhibitions.
Hoffmann
Almut
A
Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin. mvf-bd@mb.spk-berlin.de
Wegner
Dietrich
D
D000818:Animals; D000885:Anthropology, Physical; D001604:Berlin; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009144:Museums; D028683:National Socialism; D012886:Skull / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014586:USSR; D014857:Warfare