<P> The brow ridge functions to reinforce the weaker bones of the face in much the same way that the chin of modern humans reinforces their comparatively thin mandibles . This was necessary in pongids and early hominids because of the tremendous strain put on the cranium by their powerful chewing apparatuses , which is best demonstrated by any of the members of the genus Paranthropus . The brow ridge was one of the last traits to be lost in the path to anatomically modern humans , and only disappeared in a majority of modern humans with the development of the modern pronounced frontal lobe . This is one of the most salient differences between Homo sapiens and other species like the Homo neanderthalensis . </P>
<P> The brow ridge functions to reinforce the weaker bones of the face in much the same way that the chin of modern humans reinforces their comparatively thin mandibles . This was necessary in pongids and early hominids because of the tremendous strain put on the cranium by their powerful chewing apparatuses , which is best demonstrated by any of the members of the genus Paranthropus . The brow ridge was one of the last traits to be lost in the path to anatomically modern humans , and only disappeared in a majority of modern humans with the development of the modern pronounced frontal lobe . This is one of the most salient differences between Homo sapiens and other species like the Homo neanderthalensis . </P>
what is the purpose of the brow ridge
what is the purpose of the brow ridge
reinforce the weaker bones of the face
reinforce the weaker bones of the face