"The results suggest that there's more variation in brain size among modern people than between Neanderthals and Pleistocene Homo sapiens. And because brain size is actually a terrible way to predict cognitive capability, Neanderthals could have been a lot more like us than some previous studies have claimed."
"For years, researchers have studied endocasts of Neanderthal skulls, trying to piece together how their brains were different or similar to ours. And that's been a matter of some debate."
Neanderthal skulls differ from Homo sapiens skulls in shape, but these differences may not reflect cognitive abilities. MRI scans indicate greater brain size variation among modern humans than between Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens. Brain size is a poor predictor of cognitive capability, suggesting Neanderthals may have been more similar to modern humans than earlier studies indicated. This aligns with archaeological evidence of Neanderthal lifestyles, implying that modern humans did not out-compete them due to superior intelligence or adaptability.
Read at Ars Technica
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