“This clearly shows that Neanderthals were fully capable of communication using symbols, and that their brains were wired similarly to those of our species at that time,” Leder tells SYFY WIRE. “While Neanderthal brains were structured somewhat differently, it shows that both had the aptitude for symbolic expressions and communication.” Neanderthal brains were different from ours in some ways. Though Neanderthals had larger skulls and the gray matter to go with them, our cerebellum — which controls multiple functions ranging from physical abilities such as balance and movement to memory, learning, and language — is larger. Some scientists even believe that what was lacking in cognition and social interactions eventually drove Neanderthals to extinction. They still managed to survive for some 200,000 years before they vanished. While a larger cerebellum may enable better information processing capabilities, that doesn’t necessarily mean