News Anthropology

Ancient humans may have had apelike brains even after leaving Africa

Modern humanlike brains may have emerged in an evolutionary sprint about 1.7 million years ago

models of an early human skull and an apelike skull with brains highlighted in blue

Brains of early humans (illustrated in blue) may have evolved from a more apelike version (left) seen in a specimen from Dmanisi, Georgia, to the more modern humanlike one (right) from Sangiran, Indonesia, between 1.7 million and 1.5 million years ago.

M.S. Ponce de León and C.P.E. Zollikofer/University of Zurich

By Charles Q. Choi

- More than 2 years ago

Even after ancient humans took their first steps out of Africa, they still unexpectedly may have possessed brains more like those of great apes than modern humans, a new study suggests.