Podgorica, Serbia-Montenegro - Archaeologists in Montenegro have discovered a tooth believed to belong to Neanderthal man dating back between 40 000 and 150 000 years, a museum official said on Saturday.

The tooth was found in Crvena Stijena (Red Rock) and "belonged to Neanderthal man," Zvezdana Lucic, director of the museum in the northwestern town of Niksic, told reporters.

Mitra Cerovic of the Montenegrin Centre for Archaeology Research said the discovery had been confirmed by US experts from the Archaeology Museum of the University of Michigan.

"All research and analogies show that it was a tooth of a Neanderthal," Cerovic said, adding that research would last between five and 10 years. - Sapa-AFP