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The Neanderthal Nose Enigma: Why So Big?
Live Science ^ | January 14, 2011 | Charles Q. Choi

Posted on 01/14/2011 4:16:53 PM PST by decimon

A mystery of Neanderthals for more than a century is one that's literally as plain as the noses on their faces - why did they have such big schnozes?

One common answer suggests their faces somehow helped our extinct relatives deal with the extreme cold they faced. Now, however, scientists find that Neanderthal faces were not built for the cold - meaning that no one still knows why Neanderthals had such noses.

The enigma that such a large nose poses is that it seems like an excellent way to lose heat - a paradox, given that Neanderthals lived when glaciers dominated Europe. Modern humans and other animals, in contrast, typically have evolved significantly narrower, longer noses in cold climates. [The Many Mysteries of Neanderthals]

Scientists have tried solving this mystery by suggesting there were equally giant sinuses behind the broad noses. Some proposed the sinuses helped warm the air before it entered the lungs so Neanderthals were able to keep their bodies warm. Others speculated the sinuses actually had the exact opposite function, helping Neanderthals rid their bodies of heat, preventing them from drenching in sweat that could have cooled them off even more.

"The $64,000 question is what sinuses do - that is, what is their biological function. Scientists have been arguing over that for hundreds of years," researcher Todd Rae, a paleoanthropologist at Roehampton University in London, wrote in an e-mail. "There are dozens of suggestions for what they may do for the animals that have them, including adding resonance to the voice and acting as flotation devices!"

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: History
KEYWORDS: godsgravesglyphs; neandertal; neandertals; neanderthal; neanderthals
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1 posted on 01/14/2011 4:16:55 PM PST by decimon
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To: SunkenCiv

Honkin’ big paradox ping.


2 posted on 01/14/2011 4:17:57 PM PST by decimon
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To: decimon

Jewish?


3 posted on 01/14/2011 4:18:22 PM PST by Cisco Nix (Because the left is ugly and the right is beautiful.)
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To: decimon
"why did they have such big schnozes?"

Because they had big fingers and kleenex wouldn't be invented for another 300,000 years.......do the math.

4 posted on 01/14/2011 4:19:22 PM PST by Natural Law
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To: Cisco Nix

Ugh vey.


5 posted on 01/14/2011 4:20:59 PM PST by RichInOC (No! BAD Rich! (What'd I say?))
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To: decimon

“.....acting as flotation devices!”

wish I could find a pic of Helen Thomas.........


6 posted on 01/14/2011 4:21:09 PM PST by EggsAckley ( There's an Ethiopian in the fuel supply!)
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To: decimon; JoeProBono
"The $64,000 question is what sinuses do - that is, what is their biological function. Scientists have been arguing over that for hundreds of years," researcher Todd Rae, a paleoanthropologist at Roehampton University in London, wrote in an e-mail. "There are dozens of suggestions for what they may do for the animals that have them, including adding resonance to the voice and acting as flotation devices!"

Ping!

7 posted on 01/14/2011 4:22:30 PM PST by Alex Murphy ("Posting news feeds, making eyes bleed, he's hated on seven continents")
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To: EggsAckley

8 posted on 01/14/2011 4:25:24 PM PST by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet - Visualize)
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To: Natural Law

LOL!!


9 posted on 01/14/2011 4:26:49 PM PST by visualops (Proud Air Force Mom)
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To: decimon

All the better to smell you with, my dear.


10 posted on 01/14/2011 4:27:03 PM PST by Wissa (Gone Galt)
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To: decimon

The only reason that Neanderthal men had big noses is that Neanderthal women like ‘em big, and that’s the way they bred ‘em.


11 posted on 01/14/2011 4:28:04 PM PST by John Valentine
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To: Natural Law

Because they had big fingers and kleenex wouldn’t be invented for another 300,000 years.......do the math

lol


12 posted on 01/14/2011 4:28:37 PM PST by brooklin
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To: decimon

Air is free


13 posted on 01/14/2011 4:30:58 PM PST by Figment ("A communist is someone who reads Marx.An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx" R Reagan)
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To: decimon

Air’s free...


14 posted on 01/14/2011 4:32:51 PM PST by null and void (We are now in day 724 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
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To: decimon

I asked Charles Darwin this exact question before he died. Charlie said that they migrated from Africa, where big noses helped dissipate the heat, but in the colder European climate, those same noses became liabilities - which is why they went extinct. Who would have thought it was a nose job defect?


15 posted on 01/14/2011 4:33:41 PM PST by majormaturity
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To: Figment

Darn you...


16 posted on 01/14/2011 4:34:17 PM PST by null and void (We are now in day 724 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
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To: Alex Murphy

17 posted on 01/14/2011 4:36:29 PM PST by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet - Visualize)
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To: decimon
The Neanderthal Nose Enigma: Why So Big?
Maybe so they could sniff out the BBQ going on in their neighbor's cave.
18 posted on 01/14/2011 4:38:25 PM PST by oh8eleven (RVN '67-'68)
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To: decimon

Better to sniff out game with.


19 posted on 01/14/2011 4:38:31 PM PST by dalereed
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To: decimon


20 posted on 01/14/2011 4:40:00 PM PST by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet - Visualize)
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