**5. Conclusions**

The 'mosaic' evolution of the typical Neanderthal cranial morphology (i.e., 'classic' Neanderthal cranial shape [62]) seems to have included an earlier development of some facial traits, combined with the retention of a more primitive condition for the neurocranium [51,61]. The full development of the typical Neanderthal *en-bombe* shape must thus be considered a derived trait. Consequently, the moderate expansion of the parietals of the retrodeformed Steinheim (posterior view, Figure 4b) suggests association with a greater expression of midfacial prognathism than that observed in this individual, consistent with other specimens from the Middle Pleistocene of Europe. In our opinion, the present facial morphology of Steinheim is influenced by the deformation caused on the upper midface by taphonomy. Even though the reconstruction presented here did not correct the whole pattern of deformation, nor did it provide the exact original shape of Steinheim, it contributes to shedding new light on the morphology of this specimen and concurrently to placing Steinheim more firmly in the Neanderthal evolutionary lineage.

**Supplementary Materials:** The following are available online at https://www.mdpi.com/2073 -8994/13/9/1611/s1: Table S1: Comparative samples used in the analysis; Figure S1: Landmark configuration used for the PCA.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, C.B., A.P. and G.M.; methodology, C.B., A.P. and M.M.; formal analysis, C.B., A.P., F.D.V. and M.M.; investigation, C.B., A.P., F.D.V. and M.M.; data curation, C.B., K.H. and G.M.; writing—original draft preparation, C.B., A.P., F.D.V. and G.M.; writing—review and editing, C.B., A.P., F.D.V., K.H., M.M., P.R. and G.M.; visualization, C.B. and A.P.; supervision, K.H., P.R. and G.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable.

**Acknowledgments:** We are extremely grateful to Christoph P.E. Zollikofer (Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich) for kindly providing the CT data for the Steinheim cranium. We thank the Museum of Anthropology 'G. Sergi' (Sapienza University of Rome) and the digital database NESPOS—Pleistocene People and Places for granting access to the comparative sample.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
