Study: Neanderthal Brains Varied Like Modern Humans

A new study from Indiana University challenges long-held views that Neanderthals possessed inferior cognitive abilities compared to early modern humans. Researchers found that anatomical differences in Neanderthal brains were no larger than variations observed among present-day human populations, suggesting their intelligence likely fell within a similar range.

The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, compared endocasts—resin models of the brain's outer contours—from Neanderthal skulls and those of early Homo sapiens. These were analyzed alongside MRI scans from 200 individuals of European descent living in the United States and 200 ethnic Han Chinese participants. Across 13 brain regions, including areas linked to attention, motor control and memory, differences between Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens proved smaller than those between the two modern groups in nine regions.

"Putting estimated Neanderthal differences into the context of modern human variation does not support this view," the researchers wrote, referring to past speculations of Neanderthal cognitive deficits based on their distinctive skull shapes—longer and lower with...