Where did Neanderthals live, and what were the locations like?

Dr. dig responds:
The Neanderthals lived in what is today the region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, that is, most of continental Europe, the Ukraine, the Near East and North Africa.

Evidence from the Ukraine shows that the Neanderthal people lived in huts made from the skins of animals surrounding a frame of branches or mammoth long bones, with the outsides weighted with more bones. Other Neanderthals lived near the entrances of caves.

In 1957, archaeologists uncovered the remains of several Neanderthal skeletons in a cave at Sahnidar in Iraq. One was found in a grave. The skeleton was that of Neanderthal man who was severely handicapped. Pollen analysis of the soil surrounding his grave showed that it had been showered with spring flowers. He was clearly much loved and respected in spite of his deformities.