The plaster face cast of a large-nosed Neanderthal stares out into space. The extra cavities in his sinus helped trap air, which was subsequently humidified. There's nothing quite like having a warm pocket of air close to the brain to keep away the chill of the ice age, says Rick Potts , head of the Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History .
The skulls of our closest ancestors tell the tale of human origins and the closeness of our evolutionary history to climate change , Potts said. The Smithsonian exhibit at the Hall of Human Origins, of which Potts is curator, explores the idea that defining evolutionary events like the discovery of fire or migration out of Africa could be direct results of a changing climate. [More]"
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