Hence, the evidence provided by semicircular canal shape variation suggests the need to reconsider the scenario for the origin and evolution of the Neanderthal clade and highlights the role played by population structure. It also suggests that paleodemes might have started to locally evolve and diverge more frequently than previously understood, posing the possibility that some of them (i.e., Krapina individuals) might not have a direct phyletic relationship with later Neanderthal populations.