Were neanderthals more intellegent than humans?

Question

I have heard many times that they had bigger brains. Although I have also heard brain size does not really correlate with intellegence, instead the way the cortex develops does. Anyways, they were mostly dolichocephalic, so unless they had really big heads I dont understand how their brains were bigger than modern mans. Most people are brachycephalic to my understanding, and the brachycephalic brain is much larger than the dolichocephalic or mesocephalic, so how were they smarter?

Answer 1

No one will ever know for sure.

Video-tape evidence had not yet been invented!

Answer 2

To say they were not as intelligent because they failed to survive as long as humans is to misunderstand the nature of adaptation. I don't know how intelligent they were, it depends on how you feel like defining intelligence. But they were highly developed and ultra-adapted to their environment. Many anthropologists do feel they were very smart. Anyone who dismisses their capabilities a priori does so because of their own ego, not based on scientific fact. The Neanderthal toolkit was actually much more developed than the contemporary homo sapien toolkit. They were experts at making stone tools and their products are some of the most impressive stone technology anywhere. One of the leading theories as to why they died out is that their tools were too specialized to their ecosystem and once the glaciers started receding they couldn't adapt as well as homo sapiens to the new climate. It seems we might have survived not because we were smarter, but because we weren't. Our tools were diverse because we never developed a specialized system. Plus, I'm sure the fact that homo sapiens breed like rabbits had something to do with our success.

Answer 3

Nope, they just missed the boat.They still live among us.

Answer 4

Why don't you ask your brother ?

Answer 5

While there is rough correlation between brain size in relation to overall body size and intelligence, scientists caution that that correlation is very loose. Human brain size varies considerably, just as body size does. The brain size of recognized "geniuses" can vary from 1000 cc to 2000 cc in modern humans.

Surprisingly, a big brain is not an obvious evolutionary advantage--at least not immediately. For example, a large brain requires an inordinate amount of care and feeding--a diet high in protein--and exquisite temperature control in order to function properly. Increases in brain size would therefore drive changes in early human diets, because of the need to increase the intake of protein. While human species remained ominivorous, a preference for meat-eating did in fact occur over time. About 25% of our metabolism is devoted to brain function, which represents a huge investment of energy--and therefore a huge risk in terms of the overall chances for survival of the species.

http://www.wsu.edu:8001/vwsu/gened/learn...

"there is another factor to take into account: brain size to body ratio. A Neanderthal was stronger and more robust than a modern human - about a quarter heavier or so - and muscular with it.

http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot...

When the ration of brain volume to body mass is factored in Neanderthal brain volume wasn't that much greater then modern humans. Then you need to consider what they did with their brains.

While the Neanderthals existed for some 120,000 years they used the same tool kit, made in the same way. They had the hand axe and the wooden spear, but never mounted a spearhead. They left no art as drawings or decorations. It's only at the end of their existence that contact with the Homo sapiens resulted in a change in lithic and the use of beads.

Homo sapien sapien has been around for less then 100,000 years, has a smaller brain volume and has developed the civilization we live in. Neanderthal is extinct.  Which then is the more intelligent?

Answer 6

Did they progress as much as the human race? Nope, thus they are not as intelligent(you misspelled this word) as us.  

Answer 7

No, the seemed to be about the same as us. There was a news item on how their tools were just as sophisticated as ours recently.

I gotta say, using head shape to determine intelligence seems a bit 18th century.

Answer 8

no, this is the reason they went extinct. I believe it was just their craniums that were large. they were scavengers

Answer 9

They were smarter because they didn't have an R & S site on their Yahoo Answers.

No, really, I don't know of any anthropologist, paleontologist who thinks neanderthals were smarter than humans.  They had an overall large brain size, but when it is correlated to body mass their range of brain size falls in with/overlaps human brain size range.  The studies of their lifestyles and limited toolkit show a clear, very large difference with the more intelligent Homo sapiens contemporaries.

There is much literature on how human brain size does not correlate with intelligence, despite false starts in the field c.1850 to 1930s.

The "many times" you heard this:  This is one of those factoids that circulate around endlessly, decades after the serious scientists have moved on.  

One final note:  The brain case of a homo sapiens from 150,000 years ago is the same as one from a h.sapiens from 50,000 years ago, but the evidence of their intelligence (toolkit, resource use,etc) is profoundly different.  The change was, as you note , a lot more subtle than brain size.