quote:“Sometimes I think my head is so big because it is so full of dreams,” says John Merrick in the play The Elephant Man. He might have been speaking for the Boskops, an almost forgotten group of early humans who lived in southern Africa between 30,000 and 10,000 years ago. Judging from fossil remains, scientists say the Boskops were similar to modern humans but had small, childlike faces and huge melon heads that held brains about 30 percent larger than our own.
Supposedly a distinct human species (discovered in the early 20th century) lived in southern africa 10,000-30,000 years ago with suppossedly larger mental capacities. A fascinating story, and certainly provocative.
I wonder if they bear any relation to the modern-day khoisan of southern africa? Rasol?
Posted by Doug M (Member # 7650) on :
Basically this article is saying that some scientists are trying to determine if the Boskop really had superior intelligence based on so-called brain science. The idea that the Boskop was an ancient super intelligent racial type different from the bushman was first put forward by loren eisley a popular science writer in 1958. But the discover magazine article is referring to a book written by two scientists from the Dartmouth brain laboratory about their theories on the history and future development of the human brain. Keep in mind that there is no way of knowing whether the Boskops had superior intelligence just because their skulls were larger. Most of this is simply a theory based on the assumptions of modern science that may never be verified.
^ Thank you. I can see now. I think the real then becomes were these people khoisan with "big heads" or an entirely different classfification altoghether?
Posted by Doug M (Member # 7650) on :
quote:Originally posted by Mmmkay: ^ Thank you. I can see now. I think the real then becomes were these people khoisan with "big heads" or an entirely different classfification altoghether?
Boskops is considered a separate species of human that died out, therefore they are not related to Khoisan because they are not the same species.
Posted by rasol (Member # 4592) on :
^ Also skull size does not relate intelligence levels within homo-sapiens.
It's intuitive to think that it may, but there are two reasons why it does not.
- The human mind is not a *muscle*. Muscles are levers which obey simple laws of physics wherein *big muscles* have more pulling power and so are stronger.
The brain is better likened to a computer. The *size* of a computer is essentially non informative with regards to its processing power or programmatic behavior.
- In physiology there are actually a number of disabling conditions associated with -hypertrophy- [increased size] of the brain.
A human with and inordinently large brain is more likely to be congenitally retarded than -brilliant-.
We think of associating brain size with intelligence because the human brain is built upon and ancient and simple structure found in reptile and birds, only with addtional structures culminating in the cerebral cortex which only hominids have.
So yes, the human brain is bigger than -most other- species and this relates to why humans are intelligent - but it does not follow from this that *relative* intelligence within humans can be correlated to brain size.
Posted by Arwa (Member # 11172) on :
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