Ricerc@Sapienza

Lithics are the most abundant archaeological evidence from the remote past, however the way they are used to reconstruct past human groups is often biased. The Middle Stone Age (MSA) is the lithic techno-complex linked to the emergence of Homo sapiens in Africa. However, there is no consensus in the scientific community about the significance of this lithic culture in terms of connections with particular human social groups nor its evolution.

One of the features that distinguishes modern humans from our extinct relatives and ancestors is a globular shape of the braincase [1-4]. As the endocranium closely mirrors the outer shape of the brain, these differences might reflect altered neural architecture [4, 5]. However, in the absence of fossil brain tissue, the underlying neuroanatomical changes as well as their genetic bases remain elusive. To better understand the biological foundations of modern human endocranial shape, we turn to our closest extinct relatives: the Neandertals.