Final answer:
Neandertals' automorphism are the unique physical features that differentiate them from other hominins, such as their stocky build, prominent brow ridges, large nasal cavities, and robust musculature. They lived between approximately 400,000 and 40,000 years ago in Europe and the Middle East and displayed advanced cultural behaviors.
Step-by-step explanation:
Neandertals' automorphism refer to the unique morphological features that distinguish Neanderthals, or Homo neanderthalensis, from other hominins. Neanderthals were stocky, barrel-chested, and shorter in stature compared to modern humans. They had flattish skulls with a noticeable roundness at the back, prominent brow ridges, large nasal cavities, and large incisors that often showed a pattern of heavy wear. They are noted to have had robust humeri and broad scapulae, suggesting well-developed rotator cuff muscles. These physical features, along with their large brain size, which in adults ranged from 1,450 to 1,650 cubic centimeters, are some of their defining automorphies.
These anatomical characteristics, combined with cultural aspects such as the use of the Mousterian tool industry and the evident use of clothing, paints a far more sophisticated picture of the Neanderthal than the brutish caveman stereotype often portrayed. Neanderthals inhabited Europe and the Middle East between approximately 400,000 and 40,000 years ago, evolving from Homo erectus and at times interacting and interbreeding with modern humans, as DNA evidence suggests.