Neanderthal brawn lost out to social brain

Mar 14, 2013 |

Neanderthals’ bigger eyes and bodies meant they had less brain space to dedicate to social networking, which may explain why they died out and Homo sapiens conquered the planet, a study said Wednesday.

An enigmatic branch of the human family tree, Neanderthals lived in parts of Europe, Central Asia and West Asia for up to 300,000 years but vanished from the fossil record about 30-40,000 years ago.
Why they disappeared is one of the hottest topics in anthropology. Theories say they may have been victims of climate change or were massacred by their H. Sapiens cousins. Now experts from the Uni-versity of Oxford and the Natural History Museum in London suggest the answer could lie in available brainpower.

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