News Release

Neanderthal and modern human noses

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

3-D Reconstruction of Neanderthal Skulls Based on CT Scans

image: This is a 3-D reconstruction of Neanderthal skulls based on CT scans. view more 

Credit: A. Balzeau (Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France)

A study compares the nasal cavities of Neanderthals and modern humans. Both Neanderthals and modern humans settled in cold, dry Eurasian environments. This development may have required adaptations in internal nasal anatomy that facilitated the warming and humidification of air before it reached the lungs, but a lack of soft-tissue evidence in the Neanderthal fossil record has made confirming this hypothesis challenging. R. González-José and colleagues analyzed nasal morphologies of 38 Argentineans--26 of Southwestern European (SWE) ancestry and 12 recent Northeastern Asian (NEA) migrants -- and two fossil Neanderthals. The authors determined the main differences in nasal bone morphology between Neanderthals and modern humans, allowing them to infer and digitally reconstruct the Neanderthal nasal soft tissue. The authors used computational fluid dynamics to simulate breathing in Neanderthals, SWE modern humans, and NEA modern humans. Air warming and humidifying was most rapid in the NEA model, due to significantly longer fluid residence times compared with the other models. Air warming and humidifying was also more rapid in the Neanderthal model than in the SWE model. Analysis of nasal configurations within and between populations indicated selection for a particular configuration in modern human populations living in cold environments. According to the authors, the results suggest that cold-adapted nasal morphology may have evolved independently in Neanderthals and modern humans.

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Article #17-03790: "Nasal airflow simulations suggest convergent adaptation in Neanderthals and modern humans," by S. de Azevedo et al.

MEDIA CONTACT: R. González-José, Centro Nacional Patagónico, CONICET, Puerto Madryn, ARGENTINA; tel: +54-280-488-3184; e-mail: <rolando@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar>


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