Where hominid brains are concerned, size doesn`t matter
(PHYSorg.com Archaeology & Fossils)

The recently discovered species Homo naledi may have had a pint-sized brain, but that brain packed a big punch. New research by Ralph Holloway and colleagues-that include researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa-published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examines the imprints of the brain upon the skulls of this species, called endocasts. The research highlights the human-like shape of naledi`s tiny brain, surprising scientists who studied the fossils. These findings draw further into question the long-held belief that human evolution was an inevitable march towards bigger, more complex brains.