Paleolithic Child’s Skull Imprinted With Image of His Brain

FLORENCE, ITALY—The Local, Italy, reports that a skull from Calabria’s Paleolithic site of Grotta del Romito has been used to recreate the brain of a 12-year-old boy who lived around 17,000 years ago. “The boy was still growing and therefore the bones of his skull were quite soft,” said Fabio Martini of the University of Florence. Martini explained that the pressure of the growing brain left an imprint on the inside of the skull, which can be read with 3-D scanners. Scientists hope to compare the young hunter-gatherer’s brain structures to those of children living today, especially the areas of the brain responsible for language, social interaction, and spatial coordination. For more, go to "Neanderthal Brain Strain."