Neanderthals really were upstanding folk after all!
NEANDERTHALS have long been depicted as slouched, ape-like cavemen – but it appears that nothing could be further from the truth.
A study of the most complete skeleton unearthed to date shows they were more upright than humans and had stronger lungs than we enjoy today.
It adds to growing evidence that the mysterious human species was far more sophisticated than previously assumed.
A team led by Dr Asier Gomez-Olivencia, of the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, Spain, used CT scans of the fossilised skeleton – a 60,000-year-old male dubbed Kebara 2 – to create a 3D model of his chest.
He said the shape of the thorax, which includes the rib cage and upper spine and forms a cavity to house the heart and lungs, was key to understanding how Neanderthals moved ‘because it informs us about their breathing and balance’.
‘The spine is located more inside the thorax, which provides more stability,’ said Dr Gomez-Olivencia. ‘Also, the thorax is wider in its lower part.’
This shape suggests a larger diaphragm and thus greater lung capacity.
Fellow researcher Dr Ella Been, of Ono Academic College, Israel, said: ‘The wide lower thorax and the horizontal orientation of the ribs suggest they relied more on their diaphragm for breathing. Modern humans, on the other hand, rely both on the diaphragm and on the expansion of the rib cage for breathing.’
The team say the study – published in the online journal Nature Communications – redraws the ‘hunched, brutish and ape-like caveman’ as a straighter-backed version of the modern human with more powerful lungs.
Neanderthals became extinct 40,000 years ago. Recent studies have shown they had brains as large as ours and may have interbred with early humans.