Neanderthals would have had a vision superior to that of the modern human being

The badysis of an occipital bone found 49,000 years ago in the cave of El Sidrón (Asturias) reveals that Neanderthals had a primary visual cortex more extensive than that of the 39, Homo sapiens, which could imply greater visual acuity.

Analysis of an occipital bone of ilium 49,000 years ago found in the cave of El Sidrón (Asturias) reveals that Neanderthals had a primary visual cortex larger than that of Homo sapiens which could also imply greater visual acuity , according to a study by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) and the National Museum of Natural Sciences. (MNCN-CSIC). (You may also be interested: Neanderthals practiced compbadionate-guided medical care)

The study, published in Journal of Anatomy provides information on the visual system of Neanderthals by comparing the Primary visual cortex – part of the cerebral cortex located in the occipital lobe, responsible for the processing of visual information – with that of modern humans.

"We have shown that Neanderthals have a primary visual cortex larger than modern humans, so it is very likely that it has been endowed with greater visual acuity than us," explains Ángel. Peña Melían, researcher at the Department of Anatomy and Embryology at UCM. "This extension is not due to adaptation to colder regions and with less brightness, as it was thought up to now, since the specimen comes from a southern region of Europe warmer and brighter than the north of the continent. "(Also read: Study the diet Neanderthals through the scale of their prostheses)

3D cranial molds

Due to the excellent preservation conditions of the fragment of fossil SD-2300, corresponding to an occipital bone, exceptionally marked traces throats and turns of the bound brain region s at this intracranial surface corresponding to the occipital pole of the brain and surrounding areas have been identified.

For this study, the two real intracranial castings were performed. as virtual (thanks to the use of 3D computer programs) and compared with the same regions of the modern human brain using the post-mortem material of the UCM's Body Donation Center and Dissection Halls [19659004] "The results of this comparison emphasize that the brain of Neanderthal man in this region was very similar with regard to the arrangement of the furrows and turns to that of the modern human. there is a greater extension of the calcarine sulcus, located on the medial side of the occipital lobe, in comparison with the modern human, "says the MNCN researcher, Antonio García-Tabernero. "Being the longest calcarine sulcus, the primary visual cortex was also more extensive in Neanderthal compared to the modern human," concludes the MNCN researcher.

The processes of brain evolution of Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens are notable landmarks in palaeoneurology of the genus Homo . Both have reached a very high degree of encephalisation, but through different evolutionary trajectories, producing several changes, not only in size, but also in neurological form and organization, as this new discovery demonstrates.