Neanderthal Anatomy - Vision-Centered Brains Doomed Neanderthals?

The intelligence of Neanderthals has long been debated. They had massive brains, so they must have been as intelligent as we are. Neanderthals used their oversized eyes to survive in lower-light environments in Europe, where the northern latitude means fewer sun rays reach the Earth. The researchers hypothesized that Neanderthals must have had extensive brain regions dedicated to visual processing. In fact, Neanderthal skulls suggest that the extinct hominids had elongated regions in the back of their brains, known as the occipital region, which houses the visual cortex. Although Neanderthal brains were similar in size to their modern human counterparts, a new analysis of fossil data suggests that their brain structure was distinct. Overall, differences in brain structure and cognition may help explain why Neanderthals became extinct while modern humans survived. The researchers determined the standard size of fossil brains based on body mass and visual processing requirements. After accounting for diffe