Second, inspection of the cranium—which houses the brain—implied that brain development in Neanderthals may have been a slightly more protracted process than in Homo sapiens.
This can be read as yet more evidence that Neanderthals were smarter than homo sapiens, with an even more protracted childhood to allow for longer brain development. In saying this, I'm influenced by the old arguments that Stephen Gould made suggesting a link between extended development and many of the traits that we think of as uniquely human.