Study through CT scans suggests we are distinguished by different mental capacities
Posted on 12/14/2011 9:58:08 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Modern humans possess brain structures larger than their Neanderthal counterparts, suggesting we are distinguished from them by different mental capacities, scientists find.
We are currently the only extant human lineage, but Neanderthals, our closest-known evolutionary relatives, still walked the Earth as recently as maybe 24,000 years ago. Neanderthals were close enough to the modern human lineage to interbreed, calling into question how different they really were from us and whether they comprise a different species.
To find out more, researchers used CT scanners to map the interiors of five Neanderthal skulls as well as four fossil and 75 contemporary human skulls to determine the  shapes of their brains in 3-D. Like modern humans, Neanderthals had larger brains than both our living ape relatives and other extinct human lineages.
The investigators discovered modern humans possess larger olfactory bulbs at the base of their brains. This area is linked primarily with smell, but also with other key mental functions such as memory and learning -- central olfactory brain circuitry is physically very close to structures related to memory.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Study through CT scans suggests we are distinguished by different mental capacities
The Neandertal EnigmaFrayer's own reading of the record reveals a number of overlooked traits that clearly and specifically link the Neandertals to the Cro-Magnons. One such trait is the shape of the opening of the nerve canal in the lower jaw, a spot where dentists often give a pain-blocking injection. In many Neandertal, the upper portion of the opening is covered by a broad bony ridge, a curious feature also carried by a significant number of Cro-Magnons. But none of the alleged 'ancestors of us all' fossils from Africa have it, and it is extremely rare in modern people outside Europe." [pp 126-127]
by James Shreeve
in local libraries
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| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
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To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. KEYWORDS: neandertal; neandertals; neanderthal; neanderthals |
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I think, with my superior brain :), that we will manage to become extinct faster than they did - so which species will prove to be “smarter”? Time will tell.
Good to know. I was worried about that.
MY BRANE BIG
— Tarzan
According to string theory your brane is actually huge. Sorry, couldn't resist, it's the geek in me.
Google for pictures of Russian heavyweight boxer Valuev - try "as recently as today"!
Oh, come on now.
Everybody knows that Tarzan was a civilized man who moved equally well among the great apes, the courts of Europe, and the tribe of Africa. He could speak a dozen languages or more. He was an English viscount
Hollywood ruined Tarzan just like it ruins every thing it touches.
No wonder so many sperm whales are physicists.
huuhuhuh, you said sperm.
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