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.

The discovery of a Neanderthal named Thorin reveals a previously unknown lineage that diverged from other Neanderthals 100,000 years ago and remained isolated. This finding suggests that Neanderthals were more genetically diverse than previously thought,

Despite its proximity to other groups of Neanderthals and the era’s modern humans, the lineage of the specimen, dubbed “Thorin,” found by Slimak managed to stay totally isolated from groups of other early beings.