All articles tagged with #neanderthals
Oxford researchers analyzed data from 2,025 individuals across 41 primate species and found that the near-universal human right-handedness likely stems from two defining human traits—upright walking and larger brains—with limb-length balance helping predict hand preference; other factors like tool use, diet, or habitat did not fully explain the pattern.
Scientists identify HAQERs—tiny regulatory DNA regions—that disproportionately influence language ability. These ancient switches predate the human–Neanderthal split and are even found in Neanderthals, suggesting language biology existed earlier than previously thought. Using an evolutionary-stratified polygenic score, researchers describe HAQERs as “volume knobs” for gene regulation that build brain hardware for language while other genes drove broader cognitive gains. The study points to an evolutionary tradeoff: HAQERs supported fetal brain growth and language groundwork but leveled off, with future work aiming to separate genetic effects from environmental factors on language development.
Scientists studying Bruniquel cave in southwestern France report a calcite-preserved kneeprint deep in the cavern that may belong to a Neanderthal dating to about 175,000 years ago, potentially connected to the cave’s underground circular structures built from broken stalagmites. While an animal origin is unlikely and researchers caution that more knee impressions and possibly preserved biological evidence are needed for confirmation, the find suggests early human groups ventured far underground and used the cave environment in sophisticated ways.
A 59,000-year-old Neanderthal molar from Siberia shows a deep hole drilled into the tooth to treat severe decay, likely an early root-canal-like procedure done with a narrow jasper tool; experiments suggest 35–50 minutes of work, and the patient survived for a time, signaling advanced medical capability and cognitive sophistication in Neanderthals outside Homo sapiens.
A new study in the Journal of Human Evolution reports that Neanderthals used rhinoceros teeth as hammers and anvils to shape stone and process materials. Wear patterns on fossil teeth from sites in Spain and France match experimental results using modern rhino teeth, suggesting deliberate, task-specific tooth selection rather than opportunistic use, and hinting at higher cognitive capabilities in Western Europe’s Middle Paleolithic.
New research shows Neanderthals in ancient France and Spain recycled rhinoceros molars into multipurpose tools used to shape stone, process hides, and manipulate plant fibers. Wear patterns on 281 fossilized rhino teeth, plus experiments using real rhino teeth, indicate these were functional tools, highlighting Neanderthals’ sophisticated technology and cognitive abilities.
Researchers modeling ancient Europe show Homo sapiens survived Neanderthals not through brains or brawn but via more interconnected populations enabling resource and information exchange during climate shifts 35,000–60,000 years ago. Neanderthals’ smaller, scattered groups were more vulnerable, with only limited overlap between the lineages, suggesting networks—and not direct competition—helped sapiens prevail. Modern non-Africans carry a small percentage of Neanderthal DNA, but the study highlights networks as the key factor in our species’ rise.
A PNAS study using MRI data from 200 living individuals shows brain differences between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans fall within the range of variation seen among today’s populations, challenging the notion of cognitive inferiority. The findings suggest Neanderthal disappearance was more likely due to demographic processes and interbreeding, with archaeological and genetic evidence indicating shared traits and capabilities rather than a large cognitive gap.
A team analyzed mitochondrial DNA from eight Neanderthal teeth found in Stajnia Cave, Poland, recovering data from at least seven individuals who lived about 100,000 years ago. This offers the first cohesive genetic snapshot of a small Central‑Eastern European Neanderthal group, showing a maternal lineage also found in Neanderthals across Iberia, SE France, and the northern Caucasus—suggesting a once‑widespread lineage later replaced. Some teeth (juveniles and an adult) share mtDNA, implying kinship, and links to Thorin from Mandrin Cave (France) dating ~50,000 years ago emerge, underscoring the region’s role in Neanderthal history and the need to integrate archaeology, radiocarbon dating, and genetics while noting uncertainties near calibration limits.
A study of eight Neanderthal teeth from Stajnia Cave in Poland reveals a small, tightly related group of at least seven individuals who lived around 100,000 years ago, sharing a common maternal lineage. The mitochondrial DNA links these Poles to Neanderthal populations across Western Eurasia, suggesting a wide, interconnected Neanderthal network and providing a rare window into family structures and group living in ancient Europe.
Analysis of Amud 7, the most complete Neanderthal infant, shows Neanderthal babies grew much faster than modern humans: dental age (~6 months) underestimates skeletal growth (~13.7 months), meaning rapid early body growth that later evens out with modern trajectories; dating to ~51–56k years ago, the study suggests accelerated early development as an adaptive strategy and notes interbreeding with Homo sapiens.
A new comparison of Neanderthal endocasts with MRI scans from 400 modern humans shows Neanderthal brain size and regional variation fall within the range of modern human variation. Brain size differences don’t reliably predict cognition, and the findings—alongside evidence of complex tool use, symbolic thought, and social organization—suggest Neanderthals were cognitively on par with early Homo sapiens, challenging the idea that they were outmatched by size or intelligence.
International brain-imaging analysis shows that regional brain-volume differences among modern humans exceed the differences between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, arguing against the idea that cognitive limits drove Neanderthal extinction; the researchers note Neanderthals likely possessed complex cognition and behaviors (and possibly speech) and may have interbred with modern humans, leaving Neanderthal genes in many people today, with the study published in PNAS.
A new PNAS study argues Neanderthals did not have cognitively inferior brains; by comparing brain anatomy across living populations (Han Chinese vs. Americans of European descent) with Neanderthal anatomy, researchers found modern-human brain variation dwarfs the differences between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, suggesting demography and genetic swamping, not brain power, likely drove Neanderthal replacement.
A Quaternary Science Reviews study uses ecological modeling and archaeological data from 60,000–35,000 years ago to show Neanderthals disappeared through fragmented populations and weaker connectivity, while Homo sapiens benefited from more interconnected networks that enabled mobility and resource sharing during environmental shifts. Extinction varied by region, framed as a mosaic outcome driven by social structure and climate variability rather than a single catastrophe.