The Neanderthal persons were bigger than ours. It turns out that we are weird

Although closely connected, Neanderthals and modern people are separated from our last common ancestor between 650,000 and 500,000 years ago And it evolves into individual species. Among other contrasts, Neanderthal fossils show that our faces have developed strikingly different forms: modern human faces are usually less and have more delicate characteristics. The reason for this difference has been hindering the paleo -enthropologists for years, but new research has identified a painful clue.

In a exploration Posted on Monday in the journal of human evolution, a research team shows that modern human faces reach their final size of adults much earlier than Neanderthal faces and that Neanderthals had more bone formation around their cheekbones and noses. Although this does not resolve the question of why our persons were shaped differently, it answers the question of how it emphasizes a unique process that shapes human faces in what they are today.

“Our discoveries reveal that the change in development – especially during the stages of late growth – was provided to smaller faces,” Alexandra Shu, doctoral studies at the Institute of Human Origin of Max Planck in Max Planck statementS “Compared to Neanderthals and chimpanzees, which continue to grow longer, human growth of the face stops earlier, around adolescence, leading to a smaller adult face.” Schuh is the first author of the study.

To study this, Shuh and her colleagues tracked the changes in the shape of the face and the activity of bone cells throughout the lives of modern humans, Neanderthals and chimpanzees, comparing the skulls of 128 people, 13 Neandertals and 33 chimpanzees. The comparison revealed that “the midfield (the region between our eyes and the lips) of the Neanderthals are on average at birth than those of modern humans and continue to grow for a longer period, contributing to their distinctive face projection,” Shuh explained. Neanderthal persons also experience a dramatic expansion during childhood and adolescence.

In contrast, modern human faces usually reach their final size around adolescence, which gives us a smaller and more gractile middle surface. While Chimpanzee’s faces have different growth models compared to both modern people and Neanderthals, they were most similar to Neanderthals.

“The worse growth stop is a distinctive feature of our species,” Shuh told LiveS “We have identified a unique model of development seen exclusively in Homo sapiensS “

“Microscopically, this is reflected in the reduced amounts of bone absorption (in modern humans), indicative of the reduced cellular activities associated with bone development,” the researchers wrote in the study. Our bones are constantly changing throughout our lives in a process called bone reconstructionwhich breaks down old bone tissue (bone absorption) and replaces it with new tissue. “Larger quantities of bone formation in infraorbital and nasal regions and faster growth rate are responsible for the large non -grocery middle species,” they added.

Researchers note that chimpanzees, on the other hand, have different bone growth compared to both Neanderthals and humans, especially in their protruding dog region.

The new study sheds light on how people have uniquely developed smaller and graceful persons, but the question of why it is still ready for debate. Some scientists have proposed a change in the diet or a relationship to facilitate speech, while others theorize a new social preference for less aggressive characteristics-an idea called a hypothesis of human self-leaving.

“The grace of the person in modern humans can be associated with changes in behavior, such as increased social cooperation and decreased aggression,” said Sarah Friedlin, a biological anthropologist at the University of Central Florida and co -author of the study, told a biological anthropologist at the University of Central Florida Anthropology.netS

In the end, researchers have revealed another trait that makes modern humans, unlike any other being on earth – even our closest relatives.