Expert: John Shea - 3/13/2008

Question
dear John Shea,

Could you tell me which was the  biggest and/or most powerful human species in the past? I heard Neanderthals were significantly stronger then humans today; does it mean that they were the strongest humanoids, or others were even stronger?

Thanks in advance.  

Answer
This is a hard one to answer because all measures of strength are based on bone morphology and we only partly understand the forces that modify bone in response to strain and loading.
By this standard, Neandertals were very very strong, but there are some fossils of earlier hominins from Europe (Homo heidelbergensis, eg. Atapuerca) and from Africa (Homo rhodesiensis, e.g., Bodo, Kabwe) that were also very big, strong people.
It is we very gracile postglacial humans who are divergent from our Ice Age ancestors.
I hope this answer is adequate.
Sincerely,
John Shea