Study finds Neanderthal brain differences fall within modern human variation
Updated
Updated · ZME Science · Apr 30
Study finds Neanderthal brain differences fall within modern human variation
11 articles · Updated · ZME Science · Apr 30
Published in PNAS, the study used MRI scans from 400 living people and found modern-group differences exceeded Neanderthal-Homo sapiens estimates in nine of 13 regions.
Indiana University Bloomington's Thomas Schoenemann said the results do not support claims of Neanderthal cognitive inferiority, with the largest predicted difference only 0.14 standard deviations.
The findings challenge long-standing theories that brain anatomy explains Neanderthal extinction, pointing instead to factors such as climate, disease, population size, migration and interbreeding.
How is modern AI repeating the century-old scientific error of misjudging our ancient human cousins?
If Neanderthals were our cognitive equals, what was the real reason they vanished from the Earth?