Interviewee: Chris Stringer. Human origins expert Chris Stringer describes the brains and facial structure of Neandertals from the fossils. (DNAi Location: Applications > Human origins> Comparisons > Bones > The Neandertals head: Part 1)

They were big-brained, I mean their brains were as big as ours, in some cases bigger than the modern average, so they were big-brained, certainly not primitive humans. They're not missing links, they're not apelike. They're actually quite evolved humans in their skeletons, but they're strongly built individuals. In the nose area, the Neandertals have this pulled out face \u2013 it's as though we took a modern face and then pulled it out in the middle. So the face is dominated by this huge nose, and that's accentuated by the cheekbones being swept back, so that's one of the most characteristic features of the Neandertals. And some people believe that's a reflection of adaptation to life in cold conditions, because the Neandertals evolved and lived under conditions colder than the present day.

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