News Anthropology

‘Little Foot’ skeleton reveals a brain much like a chimp’s

But the ancient hominid’s inner ear shows a mix of humanlike and apelike features

Little Foot skulls

BRAIN GAIN  Digital analyses of Little Foot’s ancient skull (left) yielded a brain-surface reconstruction (shown in blue from either side and rear) with largely chimplike features.

M. Lotter, R.J. Clarke, A. Beaudet et al/J. of Human Evol. 2019

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

An ancient hominid skeleton dubbed Little Foot possessed a brain largely similar to that of modern chimpanzees and an inner ear with a mix of apelike and humanlike features, two studies suggest.