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Neanderthal Brains: Bigger, Not Necessarily Better

Neanderthals had bigger skulls than modern humans do, but that doesn't mean they'd beat us at chess.

The Crux
By Bridget Alex
Sep 21, 2018 10:30 PMApr 27, 2020 1:01 AM
Neanderthal vs Human Skulls - J Human Evol
Neanderthal skulls (left) were on average slightly larger and differently shaped and than modern human skulls (right). (Credit: Weaver, Roseman & Stringer 2007 Journal of Human Evolution)

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Neanderthals had bigger brains than people today.

In any textbook on human evolution, you’ll find that fact, often accompanied by measurements of endocranial volume, the space inside a skull. On average, this value is about 1410 cm3 (~6 cups) for Neanderthals and 1350 cm3 (5.7 cups) for recent humans.

So does that quarter-cup of brain matter, matter? Were Neanderthals smarter than our kind?

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