Inside view of our wee, ancient cousins

A half-size Homo species that lived on an Indonesian island more than 20,000 years ago possessed a remarkably small yet capable brain. According to a new report, that brain shows organizational similarities to the larger brain of Homo erectus, a human ancestor capable of complex thinking.

BRAIN RECOVERY. Skull of a small, newly discovered Homo human shown encasing a computer-generated reconstruction of its brain surface (in red).