The Neanderthal Brain: Size, Structure, and What It Means

For more than a century, the size of the Neanderthal brain was used as evidence of cognitive sophistication — and then, almost in the same breath, dismissed.

Neanderthals had brains as large as modern humans, and in some populations slightly larger.

The average Neanderthal endocranial volume falls between approximately 1,400 and 1,600 cubic centimeters, compared to roughly 1,350 cubic centimeters for the average modern human.

By raw measure, they were not outclassed.