Neanderthals brain shapes and their mentality?

[Lumpy]

It’s often pointed out that Neanderthal man had just as large a brain as Cro-Magnon or Modern man. But all the same, their skulls are quite distinctly shaped*****. Neanderthals’ skulls have much lower brows, and are correspondingly larger in the rear. What if anything can be surmised about how their mentality might have been different from modern humans as a result? What portions of their brains were larger? The visual cortex, or the cerebellum? Can we infer that Neanderthals might have been more specialized in coordination or visual perception and less in abstract thought?
*****NITPICK: Yes, I’m aware that you can pick out a spectrum of ancient skulls with classic Neanderthal at one end and classic Cro-Magnon on the other, with a continous spread in between. For the sake of discussion, I’m asking about the two extremes of the spectrum.

[Motog]

Don’t know about the shape but I have often read statements about the differences between neanderthal and cro-magnon brains that indicate that it is the complexity of the brain that made the difference. I vaguely recall something about a larger number and complexity of folds, creases etc that resulted in greater surface area. I will look for a cite

[David_Simmons]

Originally posted by Lumpy *
It’s often pointed out that Neanderthal man had just as large a brain as Cro-Magnon or Modern man. But all the same, their skulls are quite distinctly shaped**. Neanderthals’ skulls have much lower brows, and are correspondingly larger in the rear. What if anything can be surmised about how their mentality might have been different from modern humans as a result? What portions of their brains were larger? The visual cortex, or the cerebellum? Can we infer that Neanderthals might have been more specialized in coordination or visual perception and less in abstract thought?

**

I doubt if brain shape is much a factor in the detailed analysis of the mental abilities of Neanderthals or any other ancient hominid. More useful for the purpose are their artifacts in the form of tools, pottery, weapons, clothing, etc., etc., etc.

[Jabba]

From Paul Jordan, Early Man

The Neanderthal brain, though large at averages for females of about 1300ml and for males of 1600ml, lacked development by comparison with modern Homo sapiens sapiens in the neocortical area at the front where some important higher functions of our brains are thought to be conducted.

[ftg]

Brain size, even relative component size, is a red herring in anthropology. There are all too many documented instances of people who’s brains were abnormally misshappened, small, missing parts of their cortex, etc. who were normal (or above) in intelligence. The artist Toulouse-Lautrec, for example, was found to have had a very small brain.

You don’t compare humans based on brains (esp. on the skulls), you compare them on what they do. Neaderthals made nice weapons, buried their dead with grave goods, etc.

This “ml” business was debunked long ago. It don’t mean doody.