Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Madrid, Spain.
Departamento de Anatomía, Facultad de Medicina, (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Madrid, Spain.
J Anat. 2018 Jul;233(1):33-45. doi: 10.1111/joa.12812. Epub 2018 Apr 6.
The comparative analysis of the endocranial surface of the El Sidrón new occipital fragment SD-2300 shows meaningful differences in the configuration of the occipital pole region between neandertals and anatomically modern humans (AMH). The particular asymmetries found in neandertals in the venous sinus drainage and the petalial patterns are recognizable in this new specimen as well. In addition, the supra- and infracalcarine fossae of the occipital pole region appear to deviate obliquely from the mid-line when compared with sapiens. Due to the excellent preservation conditions of SD-2300, the main sulci and gyri of the occipital pole area have been identified, this degree of detail being uncommon in a fossil specimen; in general, the gyrification pattern is similar to AMH, but with some notable differences. Particularly interesting is the description of the lunate and the calcarine sulci. The lunate sulcus is located close to the occipital pole, in a similar posterior position to in other Homo species. Regarding the calcarine sulcus, there are significant differences in the primary visual cortex, with the V1 area, or Brodmann area 17, being larger in Homo neanderthalensis than in Homo sapiens. This may lead to greater visual acuity in neandertals than in sapiens.
对 El Sidrón 新枕骨碎片 SD-2300 的内表面进行比较分析，显示尼安德特人和解剖学上的现代人（AMH）之间枕骨极区域的配置存在明显差异。在这个新标本中，也可以识别到尼安德特人在静脉窦引流和花瓣模式中发现的特定不对称性。此外，与智人相比，枕骨极区域的上、下枕骨凹似乎从中线斜向偏离。由于 SD-2300 的保存条件极佳，已经确定了枕骨极区域的主要脑回和脑沟，这种细节程度在化石标本中并不常见；一般来说，脑回模式与 AMH 相似，但存在一些明显的差异。特别有趣的是对半月形和内囊沟的描述。半月形沟位于枕骨极附近，在其他人类物种中位置相似。关于内囊沟，初级视觉皮层存在显著差异，在尼安德特人中，V1 区或布罗卡区 17 比在智人中更大。这可能导致尼安德特人的视力比智人更好。
