Is it possible to delve inside the minds of our long-departed Neanderthal cousins? Two researchers believe it is, and have proposed a theory suggesting Neanderthals lacked the large working memory required to juggle many concepts at the same time. That would have limited their ability to innovate, which may have contributed to their downfall. But others have ridiculed the idea, calling it a “fantasy”.
Speculation has been rife that Neanderthal brains worked differently to those of our Homo sapiens ancestors. One idea, proposed by Steven Mithen of the University of Bristol, UK, is that Neanderthals lacked creativity. Now anthropologist Thomas…
