Thorin — nicknamed after a dwarf in J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" — is also called the "last Neanderthal" because he may have lived as recently as 42,000 years ago.

Of the twelve Dwarves who accompanied Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit, nine were his relatives, making them part of the royal family of Durin's Folk.

Sharing the name of a legendary dwarf in J. R. R. Tolkien's classic fantasy novel "The Hobbit," a Neanderthal now known as Thorin wandered the Earth up to 42,000 years ago. Now a new study in the ...

Thorin belonged to a small group of Neanderthals who lived between 42,000 and 50,000 years ago. He seems to have lived at the more recent end of that window, ...

Discovered in France's Rhône Valley, Thorin was dated to between 52,000 and 42,000 years ago. His DNA suggested that his lineage was quite inbred, even though other Neanderthal groups lived nearby.