Largest human brain
Who
Homo sapiens
Where
Not Applicable ()

Brain volume varies enormously in modern humans (Homo sapiens), ranging from less than 1,000 to more than 2,000 cm3 (61–122 cu in), so the largest modern volume exceeds that of any known early human species to date. Of the known fossils, however, the largest brain volume estimates are for the c. 100,000-year-old Xuchang skull from China (species unnamed) at ~1,800 cm3 (~110 cu in) and the c. 55,000-year-old Amud Neanderthal from Israel at ~1,736 cm3 (~106 cu in). The mean Neanderthal brain volume figure (~1,410 cm3/~86 cu in) is larger than that of recent humans (~1,350 cm3/~82 cu in), but as larger bodies have larger brains, on average, once the heavier bodies of Neanderthals are factored in, any significant difference disappears.


Humans don’t have the biggest brains among mammals; those are found in whales – for example, the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) brain is about six times as large as ours, weighing approximately 9 kg (19 lb 13 oz). But taking into account body size, H. sapiens does have one of the largest brains proportionately.

Surprisingly, in absolute terms, human brains have been getting smaller over the last 20,000 years, at least partly related to an overall reduction of our body size compared with our more heavily muscled Stone Age ancestors. But some scientists think that other factors could also play a role in this brain shrinkage.

The Xuchang skull was found during excavations at Lingjing in Xuchang County, Henan, China, between 2007 and 2014. While Amud was discovered at Amud, a gorge in the Upper Galilee region of Israel, by Hisashi Suzuki in July 1961.