Tiny Brains of Extinct Human Relative Had Complex Features

N Y Times ^

[BenLurkin]

In 2013 scientists excavating a cave in South Africa found remains of Homo naledi, an extinct hominin now thought to have lived 236,000 to 335,000 years ago. Based on the cranial remains, the researchers concluded it had a small brain only about the size of an orange or your fist. Recently, they took another look at the skull fragments and found imprints left behind by the brain. The impressions suggest that despite its tiny size, Homo naledi’s brain shared a similar shape and structure with that of modern human brains, which are three times as large.

“We’ve now seen that you can package the complexity of a large brain in a tiny packet,” said Lee Berger, a paleoanthropologist at Wits University in South Africa and an author of the paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

...

Since its remains were first retrieved, Homo naledi has puzzled scientists. From head to toe the ancient hominin displays a medley of primitive, apelike features and more advanced, humanlike characteristics.

“It’s this mosaic that is unlike anything we have seen or expected,” said Dr. Berger who first discovered Homo naledi in the Dinaledi Chamber in South Africa’s Rising Star cave system.

[Mark17]

Based on the cranial remains, the researchers concluded it had a small brain only about the size of an orange or your fist.

Hmmm. Sounds like NY Times reporters. 😂👍

[TigersEye]

But it says the brain had complex features.

[Mark17]

But it says the brain had complex features.

Oh yes, you are right. Complex features, definitely rules out NY Times reporters. I still think the size applies, just not the features. 😆😁

[MtnClimber]

Probably smarter than democRATs today.

[TigersEye]

I think liberal’s brains are definitely featureless. :)

Kind of dry and smelly too.

[BigEdLB]

Homo Nadeli (D-San Francisco) ?

[robel]

It’s an ape, not an “evolutionary” link. Of course it’s still possible they are relared to democrats.

[ETL]

Brain power I always thought was more dependent on the amount of surface area of a given brain. More convolutions = more surface area.

[ETL]

[GraceG]

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn12301-man-with-tiny-brain-shocks-doctors/

[CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC]

Size matters?

[CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC]

At your link, I notice from the CT scan of "Man With Tiny Brain" that both of the nearly-empty hemispheres of his brain are shaped like capital-D's in the view from above. Is this perhaps significant? ---

[CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC]

Ironic that this post immediately follows an FR post from a few minutes earlier entitled, "Seattle City Council votes 9-0 for scaled-down head tax on large employers"

So, Seattle is taxing "scaled-down head"s.

Apparently they have no choice but to tax those types of people, since they've long ago driven away all the conservatives.

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

Size matters?

No, it's how you use it.

[familyop]

"Is this perhaps significant?"

Not really. He was described as a "civil servant."

;-)

[LiveFreeOrDie2001]

But first came Adam & Eve.....

[Mark17]

But first came Adam & Eve.....

Yes, they did, and I have a feeling they were possibly the most brilliant people God ever created, since I think they were originally created to live forever. It just didn’t work out that way.

[jmaroneps37]

They found that “Must vote Democrat” was written on the walls of the government housing caves these small brain people lived in.

[Bonemaker]

“Based on the cranial remains, the researchers concluded it had a small brain only about the size of an orange or your fist.”

But they are not extinct...they are called Homo Democrats.