Has the brain size decreased since the upper paleolithic period ? / La taille du cerveau a-t-elle diminué depuis le Paléolithique supérieur ? (en anglais)
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LA TAILLE DU CERVEAU A-TELLE DIMINUÉ DEPUIS LE PALÉOLITHIQUE SUPÉRIEUR? Résumé. — Cette publication montre que le processus de diminution de taille du neurocrâne s'est produit sur toute l'étendue du globe et a commencé au Paléolithique supérieur. On peut probablement expliquer cela par un appauvrissement dans les protéines animales, correspondant à un changement écosensitif.
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Both absolute and relative brain size have decreased since the end of the Pleistocene.
“both absolute and relative brain size have decreased since the end of the Pleistocene (Schwidetzky, 1976;Wiercinski, 1979;Beals et al., 1984;Henneberg, 1988;Henneberg and Steyn, 1993;Ruff et al., 1997;Bailey and Geary, 2009;Hawks, 2011;Bednarik, 2014;Liu et al., 2014;Bruner and Gleeson, 2019).”
From When and Why Did Human Brains Decrease in Size? A New Change-Point Analysis and Insights From Brain Evolution in Ants (2021) · cites this paper as Wiercinski, 1979
Brain size reduction occurred in traditional hunter-gatherer human populations that never adopted sedentary agricultural practices, but have complex social networks.
“Brain size reduction occurred in traditional hunter-gatherer human populations (Wiercinski, 1979) that never adopted sedentary agricultural practices, but have complex social networks (Apicella et al., 2012).”
From When and Why Did Human Brains Decrease in Size? A New Change-Point Analysis and Insights From Brain Evolution in Ants (2021) · cites this paper as Wiercinski, 1979
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DeSilva, J. M., Traniello, J. F. A., Claxton, A. G., & Fannin, L. D. (2021) · Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.3389/fevo.2021.742639 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
“Brain size reduction occurred in traditional hunter-gatherer human populations (Wiercinski, 1979) that never adopted sedentary agricultural practices, but have complex social networks (Apicella et al., 2012).”
BackgroundTrends in Cranial Capacity and Cranial Index in Subsaharan Africa During the Holocene
Henneberg, M., & Steyn, M. (1993) · American Journal of Human Biology · doi:10.1002/ajhb.1310050411 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Intracranial volume, cranial thickness, and hyperostosis frontalis interna in the elderly
May, H., Mali, Y., Dar, G., Abbas, J., Hershkovitz, I., & Peled, N. (2012) · American Journal of Human Biology · doi:10.1002/ajhb.22325 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Human osseous intervertebral foramen width
Rühli, F. J., Müntener, M., & Henneberg, M. (2005) · American Journal of Physical Anthropology · doi:10.1002/ajpa.20263 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Human brains have shrunk: the questions are when and why
DeSilva, J. M., Fannin, L. D., Cheney, I., Claxton, A. G., Ilieş, I., Kittelberger, J., Stibel, J. M., & Traniello, J. F. A. (2023) · Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.3389/fevo.2023.1191274 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“…researchers for nearly 90 years across diverse populations globally (Figure 1; von Bonin, 1934; Weidenreich, 1946; Tobias, 1971; Schwidetzky, 1976; Wiercinski, 1979; Beals et al., 1984; Henneberg, 1988, 1998, 2004; Brown, 1992; Henneberg and Steyn, 1993, 1995; Ruff et al., 1997; Brown and Maeda,…”
CONTINUING HUMAN EVOLUTION: BODIES, BRAINS AND THE ROLE OF VARIABILITY
Henneberg, M. (1992) · Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa · doi:10.1080/00359199209520260 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Masculinity and the Mechanisms of Human Self-Domestication
Gleeson, B. T. (2020) · Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology · doi:10.1007/s40750-019-00126-z · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Smartphones: Parts of Our Minds? Or Parasites?
Brown, R. L., & Brooks, R. C. (2025) · Australasian Journal of Philosophy · doi:10.1080/00048402.2025.2504070 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Commentary: Human brains have shrunk: the questions are when and why
De, L. (2024) · Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.3389/fevo.2024.1368347 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“…of an endocranial volume reduction during the last 3 – 5 ka and discussed by several other authors (von Bonin, 1934; Tobias, 1970; Schwidetzky, 1976; Wiercinski, 1979; Beals et al., 1984; Henneberg, 1988, 1998, 2004; Brown, 1992; Henneberg and Steyn, 1993, 1995; Ruff et al., 1997; Brown and…”
- Authors
- Wiercinski, A.
- Corresponding author
- Wiercinski, A.
- Venue
- Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d anthropologie de Paris
- Publisher
- OpenEdition
- Published
- 1979
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 419-427
- ISSN
- 0037-8984 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2009836741
- Cited by
- 10
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- fr
- Open access
- green
- www.persee.fr
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-sa
- Locations
- Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d anthropologie de Paris (publishedVersion)
- Persée (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies
- Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Language and cultural evolution
- Keywords
- brain size, neurocranium, Upper Palaeolithic, human evolution, animal protein diet, ecological change, hominin brain evolution
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