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the claim
The human brain has been shrinking in size over recent millennia
the verdict
SUPPORTED
the evidence backs this
Recorded sources
4 sources for · 0 against
Is it true that the human brain has been shrinking in size over recent millennia?
Yes. Multiple anthropological and evolutionary studies support the finding that human brain volume has decreased over recent millennia, specifically since the end of the last Ice Age.
Verdict: SUPPORTED · 4 sources for, 0 against · Last checked
The analysis
Judged against the evidence record for claims of this kind.
Evidence for · 4
Reference article covering this claim directly
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Wikipedia: Recent human evolution. (n.d.). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recent_human_evolution
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More for · 3
States human brains have decreased in volume since the end of the last Ice Age.
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DeSilva, J., Traniello, J., Claxton, A. G., & Fannin, L. D. (2021). When and Why Did Human Brains Decrease in Size? A New Change-Point Analysis and Insights From Brain Evolution in Ants. peer-reviewed literature. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.742639
Reaffirms human brain size reduction from the Late Pleistocene/Holocene to modern day.
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DeSilva, J., Fannin, L. D., Cheney, I., Claxton, A. G., Ilieş, I., Kittelberger, J., Stibel, J. M., & Traniello, J. (2023). Human brains have shrunk: the questions are when and why. peer-reviewed literature. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1191274
Discusses the hypothesis and data regarding a reduction in brain size during the Holocene.
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Villmoare, B. & Grabowski, M. (2022). Did the transition to complex societies in the Holocene drive a reduction in brain size? A reassessment of the DeSilva et al. (2021) hypothesis. peer-reviewed literature. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.963568
What does the evidence say?
Judged against the evidence record for claims of this kind.
Receipt History
first checked05 Aug 2026
judged → SUPPORTED · 8605 Aug 2026
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