Neanderthal hunter. Illustration of a Neanderthal hunter in woodland with a spear, returning home with his recent kill, the prehistoric deer Haploidoceros mediterraneus. This scene is set in the late Pleistocene of Central Spain, around 90,000 years ago. Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) inhabited Europe and western Asia between 230,000 and 29,000 years ago. They did not use complex tools but had mastery of fire and built shelters. It is thought that they had language and a complex social structure, living in small family groups and hunting for food.