There has been a lot of speculation on why Neanderthals had such big conks, noses that seem so unlike our own. These noses seem very strange in comparison with modern European noses and those of western Asia in general. Yet, this is precisely the region that had been occupied by the Neanderthals. The idea arose that big noses on this scale had evolved because Neanderthals had lived in a cold Ice Age environment. In addition, the tendency of the face to slope outwards was thought to be an evolutonary way to support the big nose and its function to warm the air prior to being absorbed by their bodies. Obviously, no one in human evolution had a better idea. However, even way back in the 1990s there was dissent from this prognosis, and over the years many people have abandoned it. In fact, this study seems to go out of its way to put a nail in its coffin.
There has been only one Neanderthal skull discovery where the internal workings of the nose were still intact. This was in an Iberian cave. Paleontologists decided not to try and lift up the specimen as it was likely to cause damage to the bones – embedded in a sedimentary layer on the cave floor. Hence, an analysis was done in situ – and this has revealed the fact that the noses do not seem to have evolved to cope with a harsh environment. The researchers found the inner nasal structure was not unique. It was not substantially different from those of modern humans – even though the speicmen dated to around 130,000 yeara ago – or a little earlier. Presumably laid down in the last interglacial – at its beginning, perhaps, or its ending. See https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/human-evolution/perfectly-preserved-neanderthal-skull-bones-suggest-their-noses-didnt-evolve-to-warm-air/ … meaning, the nose studied did not evolve to warm air in a cold environment. It seems most earlier species of Homo had wide noses, and wide noses are not unknown in modern populations around the world.
The same story is at https://phys.org/news/neanderthal-nose-mystery-ancestors.html … where we learn the forward projecting face of Neanderthals, it would seem, was not caused by the functions of the nose, in conditioning the air, but came about via other factors. These are not elaborated on in the press release. In other words, a once consensus view has been overturned.