Featuring among the remains is a very complete left temporal bone and an auditory ossicle was found inside it: a complete stapes. Virtual 3D reconstruction techniques enabled this ossicle to be “extracted virtually” and studied.
This stapes is the most complete one in the Neanderthal record and certifies that there are morphological differences between our species and the Neanderthals even in the smallest ossicles in the human body. As Asier Gómez-Olivencia pointed out, “we do not yet know the relation between these morphological differences and hearing in the Neanderthals. This would constitute a new challenge for the future”.
Story: University of the Basque Country | Photo: University of the Basque Country
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