That word "Neanderthal" is just that, a word, used to describe remains similar to those first discovered in the Neander Valley, in northwestern Germany.
Today various sites are classified as "early Neanderthal", "middle Neanderthal" "late Neanderthal", "pre-Neanderthal" and even, presumably, "post-Neanderthal" -- all of which merely describes where-exactly investigators think each particular find fits in the great scheme of things.
Speculations about which creatures may have been ancestors of Neanderthals range from homo antecestor (circa 1.2 million years ago) to Homo heidelbergensis (circa 600 thousand years ago).
There are similarities amongst all these creatures and early "fully-humans", but also noticeable differences.
