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The Neanderthal rib cage was subtly different in shape from our own 鈥� and that could help explain how the heavily built ancient humans grabbed enough oxygen from the air to survive.

We now know a huge amount about Neanderthals 鈥� we鈥檝e even gained some insights into their sex lives 鈥� but there are still gaps in our understanding.

The precise shape of the Neanderthal chest (or thorax) is one of those gaps, says Asier G贸mez-Olivencia at the University of the Basque Country, Spain. 鈥淩ibs and vertebrae are fragile and have a limited fossil record,鈥� he says.

But there is one Neanderthal specimen that does have most of its spine and rib cage preserved 鈥� a 60,000-year-old skeleton that belonged to an adult male. It is named 鈥�Kebara 2鈥� and it was found in Israel in the 1980s. G贸mez-Olivencia and his colleagues have now generated an accurate 3D reconstruction of the Neanderthal rib cage using Kebara 2 as a guide.

Heavy build

We know that Neanderthals had bodies that were stockier than ours, which suggests that they burned more energy than we do. 鈥淗eavier bodies require a higher caloric intake and a higher oxygen consumption,鈥� says G贸mez-Olivencia.

This has led researchers to assume Neanderthals had a bigger chest than we do, to hold larger lungs. But Kebara 2鈥檚 rib cage was the same size as ours. 鈥淭his was one of the big surprises of the study,鈥� says G贸mez-Olivencia.

The Neanderthal rib cage was, however, subtly different in shape. When viewed from the front, it is wider at the bottom than a typical modern human rib cage.

This could be significant, says G贸mez-Olivencia. The lower rib cage is where the diaphragm lies. This sheet of skeletal muscle contracts when we breathe. G贸mez-Olivencia and his colleagues think that if Neanderthals had a wider 鈥� and larger 鈥� diaphragm, it could have听sucked in听stronger inhalations.

This means the Neanderthals鈥� lungs could have expanded more with each breath, taking in more air 鈥� and more oxygen. 鈥淭he wider and larger lower thorax would cope with [their] oxygen necessity without any problem,鈥� says G贸mez-Olivencia.

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