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Neanderthals Went Extinct Because Of Their Large Eyes

March 13, 2013

Comments below here needed to be preserved for posterity. The Article itself is horrendous

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Scientists know that early Humans (Homo sapiens) and Neanderthals (H. s. neanderthalensis) coexisted for a short time before the latter eventually became extinct. While it was understood that humans had better developed brains than their more primitive counterparts, it was generally not well-known why these early ancestors made a grand exit.

A new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggests one reason the Neanderthals went by the wayside was because of their large eyes, which were much larger than those of our own species. As a result of these large oculars, more of their brain was devoted to seeing in the long, dark nights than for high-level processing.

Without needing to spend so much time helping our eyes see, our brain was able to help our ancestors learn to fashion warm clothes and develop social structures to survive the impending Ice Age. While Neanderthals had the same size brain as our early ancestors, theirs were organized much differently and focused not just on vision, but also on control of the body, which may have played a part in their demise.

So the long-lived debate over why Neanderthals suddenly vanished from the Earth about 28,000 years ago may finally be solved.

For the study, Professor Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum, along with Eiluned Pearce and Robin Dunbar of the University of Oxford, examined the skulls of 25 Neanderthals and 39 modern humans, all between 27,000 and 200,000 years old.

The team analyzed measurements of the inside volume of the skulls, eye socket widths, breadths and volumes, allowing the team to get a good estimate of the size of the eyeballs and visual cortices (brain areas associated with vision). The measurements confirmed that H. s. neanderthalensis eyes were much larger — on average a quarter-inch larger than those in H. sapiens.

Although this seems rather insignificant, Pearce noted that it was enough to ensure that Neanderthal brains were working harder on processing visual information than on other more important areas.

“Since Neanderthals evolved at higher latitudes, more of the Neanderthal brain would have been dedicated to vision and body control, leaving less brain to deal with other functions like social networking,” she told BBC News.

Living in higher latitudes meant less light in a 24-hour period, possibly explaining why Neanderthals in the northern areas had evolved larger eyes. For comparison, Pearce noted that modern humans living in the higher latitudes also have larger eyeballs and visual cortices than their more equatorial peers.

Previous research has shown that Neanderthals also had bigger bodies than modern humans and as such their brains had to focus more on body maintenance and control.

Since the Neanderthal brain didn´t grow to compensate for the larger eyes and visual cortices, the team suggests their brain regions were organized much differently than our own. Neanderthal noggins likely didn´t have the appropriate accommodations to host large-scale social structure or increased cognition, according to the team.

These lacks of function could have limited their ability to cope with environmental change and competition from the more advanced early H. sapiens, added the study authors. In the end, this would have ultimately led to their extinction, especially if no other factors were at play.

“The large brains of Neanderthals have been a source of debate from the time of the first fossil discoveries of this group, but getting any real idea of the ℠quality´ of their brains has been very problematic. Hence discussion has centered on their material culture and reconstructed way of life as indirect signs of the level of complexity of their brains in comparison with ours,” said Stringer in a statement.

“Recently, their possibly accelerated life history, with shorter childhoods, has been brought into the discussions, as have possible differences in brain physiology deriving from research on their DNA,” he added.

Apart from their inability to from large social groups and to fashion warm clothes for survival, the research is not trying to paint Neanderthals as a stupid race.

Dunbar, who was also part of other emerging research portraying the early relatives of H. sapiens as intelligent beings, said the new study made sure to not lean toward a stereotypical image of Neanderthals, one that is often portrayed in Hollywood as them being stupid and brutish creatures.

“They were very, very smart, but not quite in the same league as Homo sapiens,” he told BBC News. “That difference might have been enough to tip the balance when things were beginning to get tough at the end of the last ice age.”

Until now, most of the knowledge of the Neanderthal brain was based on skull casts. These past studies have offered a good indication on the size and structure of the brain, but have done little to indicate how the actual brain may have functioned. The latest study is an imaginative approach in trying to address this issue.

The new study concurs with other research that has shown a larger eye size in primates is proportional to the amount of brain space devoted to visual processing. That research led Stringer and his colleagues to assume the same would be true of Neanderthals.

“Our study provides a more direct approach by estimating how much of [the Neanderthal] brain was allocated to cognitive functions, including the regulation of social group size; a smaller size for the latter would have had implications for their level of social complexity and their ability to create, conserve and build on innovations,” concluded the authors.

COMMENTS

Neanderthal's did not "went extinct", they "became extinct". It

is a pity that bad writing isn't extinct yet.

Neanderthal eyes were an aphrodisiac for the Mammuthus

primigenius or Wooly Mammoth. Mammoths society eventually threw

off the shackles of superstition and wooly woo woo, but not in

time to save the Neanderthal. The final Neanderthal was known as

"Bulgy" and was taken down by a wealthy Mammoth poacher.

Neanderthals were extinct monkeys. Who can recall the Nebraska

Man?

Gosh, I really cannot believe scientists get paid to do studies

like this. My theories are: 1. the two species interbred. Proof -

observe a crowd and look for Neanderthal characteristics. I have

seen visual evidence of this. How about a DNA study? 2. A

pandemic illness that Homo sapiens were resistent too, but

Neanderthals were not. This makes a lot more sense than eye size.

I like when people who sit at home and are not scientists spout

their useless opinions online.

its a good thing, this keeps people interested curious, open to

mistakes and correction. The more the people talk about science,

the better is for everyone.

Ok guys, what your next theory is going be like, that

Neanderthals disappeared because of their large penises? Stop the

BS, Will you? be more realistic. You know that homo sapiens enjoy

killing each other. Since homo sapiens was more advanced that

poor neanderthals, well, they just carried out a genocide

operation. The end result? Neanderthals are gone for good.

Period.

we probably killed half and bred with the others. But were too

full of ourselves and our big brains to think any other then we

just killed them all. We more then likely mixed.

The real dirty secret and reason that Neanderthals went is

extinct is because they were loud Cro-Magnons couldn't stand they

noise and murdered every last one of them.

It is easy to speculate, much harder to prove. Granted the reason

Neanderthals went extinct is most likely multifactorial.

Tiny lemurs can see in the dark just fine with a walnut-sized

brain.

doesn't matter - they went extinct because they weren't strong

enough to survive and progress. WE cannot put them in cages like

Pandas and force them to reproduce - which by the way isn't

helping the Panda either... Species need to be flexible and

willing to pursue growth and progress instead of restrict

themselves and stay too comfortable with the ever changing

environment around them...

they were not cave men.

This kind of reasoning is an argumentum e silencio. There is no

evidence for Neanderthals being less intelligent than modern

humans. What we know for sure is that their brains were larger on

average. Their larger eyes may give an explanation why their

brains were bigger, but the assumption that their brain was

organized in a less efficient way is just speculation. There is

neither evidence nor any indication for such an arbitrary

assumption.

What is to stop me from claiming that Neanderthal became an

extinct species because they tripped over their genetalia that

dragged on the ground. Those are the balls necessary for

continuation of a species. If they get tripped up on say a charge

of saber tooth tigers; yeah they are the lunch meat. I think it

holds as much weight than the eyeball theory.

Their big baby "blues" made them go extinct? Come on. These guys

were bigger and badder than the homos so they would just TAKE

what they wanted. And they could do it at night. Cause the other

dudes can't see so well when it is dark makes more sense.

Besides, they are still present today. Look and see who picks up

the garbage, or is the linebacker for the 49'ers . Big and dumb

still exists.

Neanderthals didn't "go extinct". They were absorbed by

interbreeding into other populations.

This just in: "Neanderthals still existing by the droves in

Washington D.C." A.P.

Perhaps Neanderthal became extinct at the hands of the

proto-manipulators presently snowing us out of existence with

specious statistical nonsense such as this, and with 'economics'.

Strange how folk like Stringer always wield so much media

attention, no?

larger brains, bigger eyes using up the brain power. naw keep

looking

For 20 years i have been explaining in my work on complexity that

the homo sapiens have 2 species, the visual neanderthal brain,

which creeps in the dolicocephalic white man and the verbal homo

sapiens sapiens, which has a brachicephalic wider Brocca axis,

this post confirms it (:

http://evolutionaryeconomics.wordpress.com/the-science-of-history/1-long-energetic-youth-paleolithic-hunters/

not much to be proud of here. among humans murderers tend to be

stupider than law abiding people. if we come from a more

murderous sub species, and killed off our cousins, it doesn't

mean we were smarter.

Neanderthals are extinct ??

What a crock. they also had larger craniums which would have made

up for the extra space for processing visual information. sorry,

I don`t buy this one at all.

Neanderthals brain size were about the same size as humans. Not

any bigger...

Neanderthal DNA and NRA DNA is a perfect match.

1.- Better vision, improved body control =Extinct. 2.- " For

comparison, Pearce noted that modern humans living in the higher

latitudes also have larger eyeballs and visual cortices than

their more equatorial peers." And we all know as a common fact

that ecuatorial people are smarter, better workers and more

advanced that their higher latitude peers...

We came , we mingle with them and we conquer them. They were just

not that brave to survive our women. Neanderthal's did not "went extinct", they "became extinct". It