From George Dvorsky at Gizmodo:
Though still technically human and featuring very human-like characteristics, they were shorter, more robust, and physically stronger. But they also featured distinctive faces, with heavy brows, weak chins, a large, forward-projecting face, and a wide nose. Some of these characteristics, such as the brow and chin, were likely acquired from their ancestors, but the other features are so distinctive that paleontologists figure they must’ve evolved for a special reason.
New research published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B suggests this is very much the case, and that Neanderthals acquired a facial structure that made life during the Ice Age more bearable. More.
Paper. (paywall)
Faces really different from “ours”? One gets the impression that some people have not spent enough time in the Toronto subway at rush hour… 😉
As a former – and now priced-out – Torontonian, I do not think that Neanderthals would even attract much attention in the varied and milling crowd.
See also: Man is ever a wolf to man! – or maybe sometimes just another slowly moving barrier against the wind?
Neanderthal Man: The long-lost relative turns up again, this time with documents
and
A deep and abiding need for Neanderthals to be stupid. Why?