Researchers at the Institute for Anthropological Research study Neandertals through scientific projects, publications, books, and public outreach. A common question is whether Neandertal or Neanderthal is the correct spelling. In fact, both are correct. In the early 20th century, German spelling reform removed the silent h from many words, changing Thal (“valley”) to Tal. As a result, some authors use the modern spelling, while others prefer the traditional form. This change does not affect taxonomic names, however. The scientific name Homo neanderthalensis, introduced by William King in 1864, remains valid, as does Homo sapiens neanderthalensis if Neandertals are regarded as a subspecies of our own species.
