Back to the old man's back: Reassessment of the anatomical determination of the vertebrae of the Neandertal individual of La Chapelle-aux-Saints Réexamen du dos du vieil homme : révision de la détermination anatomique des vertèbres du Néandertalien de La Chapelle-aux-Saints

One hundred years ago, in this same journal, Boule described the nearly complete skeleton of the Neandertal from La Chapelle-aux-Saints in a series of articles which constituted a monograph on this individual. This find, and especially his vertebrae has played a central role in a long and as yet unresolved debate regarding the body posture of Neandertals. In this article, a full inventory and anatomical descriptions for all the vertebrae and the sacrum are provided for the first time. Additionally, new anatomical determinations for some of the elements are provided and justified. In light of these results, the pathological studies of this individual need to be re-evaluated and new metric studies are warranted. © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.