EnglishLady
Veteran Expediter
The characteristic broad foreheads and large noses of Neanderthals did not give them any special advantage in the cold arctic conditions of the last ice age, according to new research that has raised new questions about the habitats our prehistoric relatives lived in and why they died out.
Their prominent facial features have caused them to be cast as one of nature's less attractive creatures, but now one of the main scientific explanations for Neanderthals' large noses and jutting foreheads has been disproved.
For more than 150 years scientists have explained the reason for these facial differences to modern humans as an adaptation that allowed Neanderthals to live in the freezing conditions that gripped Europe during the last Ice Age.
They believed prehistoric human relatives had enlarged sinuses which helped to warm the air as it was inhaled.
New research that used three dimensional scans and X-ray images of Neanderthal skulls has revealed that their sinuses were no bigger than modern humans, Homo sapiens, who evolved in more temperate climates, and so played no role in increasing the size of their facial features.
The researchers behind the study claim the findings suggest Neanderthals, which died out around 30,000 years ago after surviving for more than 400,000 years, did not evolve to survive in the harsh frozen tundra of Europe but instead were better suited for living in warmer climates.
Their prominent facial features have caused them to be cast as one of nature's less attractive creatures, but now one of the main scientific explanations for Neanderthals' large noses and jutting foreheads has been disproved.
For more than 150 years scientists have explained the reason for these facial differences to modern humans as an adaptation that allowed Neanderthals to live in the freezing conditions that gripped Europe during the last Ice Age.
They believed prehistoric human relatives had enlarged sinuses which helped to warm the air as it was inhaled.
New research that used three dimensional scans and X-ray images of Neanderthal skulls has revealed that their sinuses were no bigger than modern humans, Homo sapiens, who evolved in more temperate climates, and so played no role in increasing the size of their facial features.
The researchers behind the study claim the findings suggest Neanderthals, which died out around 30,000 years ago after surviving for more than 400,000 years, did not evolve to survive in the harsh frozen tundra of Europe but instead were better suited for living in warmer climates.
