Neanderthal Faces Were Bigger Than Ours. Turns Out We’re the Weirdos

While closely related, Neanderthals and modern humans split from our last common ancestor between 650,000 and 500,000 years ago and evolved into distinct species. Among other contrasts, Neanderthal fossils show that our faces developed strikingly different shapes: modern human faces are generally smaller and have more delicate features. The reason for this difference has stumped paleoanthropologists for years, but new research has identified a tantalizing clue. In a study published Monday in the Journal of Human Evolution, a research team shows that modern human faces reach their final adult size much earlier than Neanderthal faces, and that Neanderthals had more bone formation around their cheekbones and noses. While this doesn’t resolve the matter of why our faces were shaped differently, it does answer the question of how, and highlights a unique process that shaped human faces into what they are today. “Our findings reveal that a change in development—particularly during late gro ... Read full article.