Communications Biology· 2026Q1
Anatomical differences in the brain organization between Australopithecus and early Homo based on computational neuroanatomy
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- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Early Homo specimens show an enlarged posterior cerebellum and temporoparietal regions compared to Australopithecus africanus, suggesting shifts in brain organization related to social communication and tool use.
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Key points
- Reconstructed brain models for Australopithecus africanus, Homo habilis, and Homo ergaster using CT scans and endocranial casts.
- Early Homo specimens exhibited an enlarged posterior cerebellum compared to Australopithecus africanus.
- Temporoparietal regions, associated with social communication and tool use, were enlarged in early Homo.
- Relative frontal lobe volume showed little change among the sampled fossil hominins.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract Encephalization is a hallmark of human evolution, but how regional brain morphology changed during early hominin evolution remains unclear. Here, we show regional brain morphological differences between sampled Australopithecus and early Homo specimens. Using computed tomography and endocranial casts, we generated brain models for Australopithecus africanus , Homo habilis , and Homo ergaster using an anatomically homogeneous cross-species interpolation technique. Our reconstructions suggest that the posterior cerebellum was enlarged in early Homo compared with the sampled A. africanus specimens. In contrast, relative frontal lobe volume remains largely unchanged among the sampled fossils. We also identify enlargement of temporoparietal regions that, in modern humans, are associated with functions including social communication and tool use. By integrating fossil endocranial morphology with comparative neuroanatomical information from extant primates, the present approach provides a quantitative framework for generating and testing hypotheses about regional brain evolution in extinct hominins.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Communications Biology, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Anthropology
AnthropologySocial Sciences