Modern Humans and Neanderthals May Be More Similar Than We Imagined

Re:Modern Humans and Neanderthals May Be More Similar Than W... by lkrubner on Saturday September 23, 2017 @12:45PM (#15320503)

Second, inspection of the cranium—which houses the brain—implied that brain development in Neanderthals may have been a slightly more protracted process than in Homo sapiens.

This can be read as yet more evidence that Neanderthals were smarter than homo sapiens, with an even more protracted childhood to allow for longer brain development. In saying this, I'm influenced by the old arguments that Stephen Gould made suggesting a link between extended development and many of the traits that we think of as uniquely human.

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Re:Modern Humans and Neanderthals May Be More Similar Than W... by SerLava on Saturday September 23, 2017 @01:27PM (#15320723)

Maybe the length of brain development evolved to be longer due to pressures selecting for /what/ the brain would be capable of doing, and then further evolutionary pressures compressed the time frame?

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Re:Modern Humans and Neanderthals May Be More Similar Than W... by rgrieselhuber on Saturday September 23, 2017 @01:48PM (#15320833)

This can also lead to some potentially dicey conclusions in certain corners that analyze prevalence of Neanderthal DNA in human populations.

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Re:Modern Humans and Neanderthals May Be More Similar Than W... by Method-X on Saturday September 23, 2017 @02:24PM (#15320974)

Like what?

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Re:Modern Humans and Neanderthals May Be More Similar Than W... by RepressedEmu on Tuesday September 26, 2017 @09:40AM (#15338501)

He is implying that a larger amount of Neanderthal DNA would lead to greater intelligence.

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Re:Modern Humans and Neanderthals May Be More Similar Than W... by rgrieselhuber on Wednesday September 27, 2017 @09:22PM (#15353780)

It's not my assertion, just that there are those who say that.

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