Neanderthal and human brains similar shape at birth, research shows
Friday, November 12, 2010 - 19:30
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Human brains soon become more rounded, but those of the extinct species retained an elongated shape. The findings could help scientists determine the cognitive differences between the two species. The newborn brains of Neanderthals looked remarkably similar to human brains at birth and then began to diverge drastically over the first year of life, European scientists have reported. The findings, reported online Monday in the journal Current Biology, could help paleoanthropologists figure out the cognitive differences between modern humans and their extinct relatives — and when, exactly, those differences developed.