It was long believed that Neanderthals lost the evolutionary race due to insufficient development of their brain structures.
Medianews.az reports that a new study published in the journal "PNAS" casts doubt on this conclusion.
Scientists note that although there are significant differences in skull structure between Neanderthals and "Homo sapiens," these features are not a direct indicator of intellectual superiority as previously thought.
The researchers compared MRI data of 100 Chinese and 100 European-descended Americans. The results showed that differences in brain structure among modern humans are in some cases greater than those between Neanderthals and "Homo sapiens."
According to the scientists, if such differences do not hinder the intellectual abilities of modern humans, then the anatomical characteristics of Neanderthals did not cause them to be "weaker." The study indicates that the main reason for the disappearance of Neanderthals was not intellectual deficiency, but rather demographic and cultural factors./Oxu.Az