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IAm_NotACrook t1_je6wpk7 wrote

Reply to comment by Lurker_IV in TIL The oldest musical instrument in the world, a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal flute, is made from the left thighbone of a young cave bear. by gonejahman

> They had bigger brains than us so they were probably smarter.

I don’t know if that tracks. Like dolphins have bigger brains than us but I don’t think a dolphin is as smart as us, despite being extremely intelligent in their own right.

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GeorgeOlduvai t1_je7pias wrote

It does not track. Your example is excellent; dolphins have bigger brains than humans but they use most of that for echolocation. Neanderthals had smaller frontal lobes and larger occipital portions.

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dressageishard t1_je85k4d wrote

Cro-Magnon man had a larger brain than modern humans. Who knows, maybe Neanderthals did, too?

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