4 ms·

Neanderthals had bigger brains than us

mej10 10y ago
This is orthogonal to the claim. There are hypotheses that Neanderthals were actually smarter than our other ancestors, and that they were wiped out for various reasons unrelated to intelligence. They may have been less violent than homo sapiens or seriously weakened by pathogens that didn't affect homo sapiens.
- Mikeb85 10y ago
  Or simply less numerous. We do know that many of us (Europeans and Asians) have some Neanderthal DNA, it's entirely possible they were just bred out of existence.
  - temp246810 10y ago
    According to 21andMe, I am a whopping 3% neanderthal. Don't know why I felt compelled to share this here, alas, there you go.
    - magic_beans 10y ago
      Most Asian and European people have neanderthal DNA.
    - emmelaich 10y ago
      That's 23andme. I also have a high Neanderthal percentage. Wikipedia says modern humans have somewhere between 1% and 4%. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal#Genome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal#Genome
      - temp246810 10y ago
        Right on, something seemed off in the name but I just didn't look it up. Should have known too, 23x2=56.
- Razengan 10y ago
  One has to wonder: if there were ever any other intelligent species (that we couldn't breed with) on this planet alongside us, then we probably wiped them out..
  - cauterized 10y ago
    Why would we necessarily be what wiped them out? Intelligent dinosaurs may have been wiped out by an asteroid/volcanic activity/climate disruption (or whatever the most current theory is).
    - sandworm101 10y ago
      While they werent dumb lizards, i havent heard anyone claim dinos were dolphin or ape-smart. The brains were small and structured very differently than animals we today consider smart.
      - bonzini 10y ago
        Bird brains are also very different from mammal brains, yet corvids are considered to be one of the smartest species.
    - Razengan 10y ago
      Edited it a bit. :) Were humans around at the time of the dinosaur extinction event?
- hectorperez 10y ago
  I didn't say that we are smarter. However, a smaller brain might have been better at that time. For example, a bigger brain requires more energy. On the other hand, death in childbirth was a major hazard for females. Although I think Neanderthals' brain size at childbirth was similar to that of modern-day babies - but later it grew faster.
- return0 10y ago
  idiocracy

mej10 10y ago

This is orthogonal to the claim. There are hypotheses that Neanderthals were actually smarter than our other ancestors, and that they were wiped out for various reasons unrelated to intelligence. They may have been less violent than homo sapiens or seriously weakened by pathogens that didn't affect homo sapiens.

Mikeb85 10y ago
Or simply less numerous. We do know that many of us (Europeans and Asians) have some Neanderthal DNA, it's entirely possible they were just bred out of existence.
- temp246810 10y ago
  According to 21andMe, I am a whopping 3% neanderthal. Don't know why I felt compelled to share this here, alas, there you go.
  - magic_beans 10y ago
    Most Asian and European people have neanderthal DNA.
  - emmelaich 10y ago
    That's 23andme. I also have a high Neanderthal percentage. Wikipedia says modern humans have somewhere between 1% and 4%. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal#Genome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal#Genome
    - temp246810 10y ago
      Right on, something seemed off in the name but I just didn't look it up. Should have known too, 23x2=56.
Razengan 10y ago
One has to wonder: if there were ever any other intelligent species (that we couldn't breed with) on this planet alongside us, then we probably wiped them out..
- cauterized 10y ago
  Why would we necessarily be what wiped them out? Intelligent dinosaurs may have been wiped out by an asteroid/volcanic activity/climate disruption (or whatever the most current theory is).
  - sandworm101 10y ago
    While they werent dumb lizards, i havent heard anyone claim dinos were dolphin or ape-smart. The brains were small and structured very differently than animals we today consider smart.
    - bonzini 10y ago
      Bird brains are also very different from mammal brains, yet corvids are considered to be one of the smartest species.
  - Razengan 10y ago
    Edited it a bit. :) Were humans around at the time of the dinosaur extinction event?
hectorperez 10y ago
I didn't say that we are smarter. However, a smaller brain might have been better at that time. For example, a bigger brain requires more energy. On the other hand, death in childbirth was a major hazard for females. Although I think Neanderthals' brain size at childbirth was similar to that of modern-day babies - but later it grew faster.
return0 10y ago
idiocracy