Differences between Avatar bodies and Na'vi

[Nìwotxkrr Tìyawn]

It strikes me as odd to have such a sensible/important part of the body on such an exposed location.
The back off the head is the thing that's likely hitting the ground when you get unconscious (or are shoved off an edge without chance to do a leaf-fall or someone/-thing strikes your head and you aren't ducking successful).
But on the other hand it's a completely different environment so perhaps different evolutionary rules applied. Or there was something else making that position favorable.

It seems to me a reasonable position for the queue considering it is a neural connector, the shorter the distance to the brain the better. If it gets too far away it gets much less effective at its job and is even more susceptible to damage because the link would have a farther distance from brain to tip.

[Tsu'roen]

...
Update:
Now, back from a (as good as) private screening and see the load of details I found:
The queue starts at roughly the same spot for a Na'vi as it does for an Avatar. Proof of this is in the scene where Jake takes the first meal after being accepted into the tribe:
The Na'vi he is seated next to is seen from the side and there the braid starts in the middle of the back of his head. Due to his haircut the queue is clearly visible: starting at the base of the skull and being woven into the braid at roughly mid-neck.

I just saw Avatar on the really big IMAX screen in San Francisco. Well, that scene doesn't show that guys queue attachment clearly - that can as well be hair.  But there are a ton of other scenes that show much clearer where the queue origin on a Na'vi is. And it is definitely way higher up than on Jake's Avatar. Besides the brain scan yo can see it in the opening scene of the battle where he rides Toruk. You can clearly see that his queue attaches to his skull just a little above the neck.
But if you look at Neytiri's queue you see that it attaches very high in the back of her skull. And it's the same with Tsu'tey and most of the other Na'vi.

[Na'ríng Tsmuke]

Differences I have seen:

Na'vi have:

1. Four fingers/toes on each hand/foot.
2. Long big toe.
3. Slightly bigger/flatter noses (e.g. Grace's avatar VS Mo'at).
4. Slightly bigger eyes.
5. More pointed, cat-like teeth.
6. No eyebrows.
7. Slightly narrower body build.
8. Queues start higher up on the head, on the crown.
9. And of course, no human DNA.

look at where the queue starts on this Na'vi, way higher than on an Avatar

[Tsu'roen]

Well, that Na'vi is Neytiri
And yes, the queue of a Na'vi starts higher up than on an Avatar. There are ample scenes throughout the movie where you can see it.

[tsutang]

The queue placement probably has to do with a different brain. While their brains must be similar to a degree for something like the Avatar program to work, things could be in different places. The queue is controlled by a lobe not found in the human brain, so it was the most difficult part of the program. Do to the placement on the Avatar, my guess is that the lobe control queue is closely linked to the cerebellum or limbic system. Both are considered to be the oldest parts of our brain and go way back in our evolutionary history. The cerebellum deals with cordination, balance, and what not, while the limbic system deals with emotion. Since the majority of the animals we've seen have a queue we can assume it also developed rather early in their evolution and is a core part of their brain structrue, thus it probably would be located near the other older parts of their brain, i.e. their equvilance of the cerebellum and limbic systems.

The last several time's I've watched the movie (and there have been "several", I should have stock in a couple of theater companies) I've been watching the queue locations on the Na'vi carefully. We already know where it is located on an Avatar, thanks to the brain scan when Jake first enters his Avatar. The ASG says making the Avatar brain compatible with the human driver was the most difficult part because the Na'vi brain physiology is considerably different. It's almost like they had to tack on the queue in later development, but who knows. In any case- in every clear view of the Na'vi queue in the movie, it appears to be much higher on the back of the skull. At first, I thought maybe it was just some creative hairstyling by the Na'vi. Neytiri wears decorations at the top of her queue, and it is clear in several scenes where it is flowing that there is nothing below it.

Someone else said they thought Jake's queue moved up during the movie. I think that IS more about hairstyling, especially near the end when he gets his new haircut. It's likely that Neytiri (or whoever did his hair) was trying to make it LOOK like his queue was up higher, so he would be more accepted, not that becoming Toruk Makto didn't pretty-much guarantee that.


As others have noted- after watching the movie several time (I should own stock in a particular theater chain), it became obvious that the Na'vi and Avatar queues emerge from different portions of their scull. It is very clear from the brain scan when Jake first enters his Avatar that the queue emerges near the base of the skull. It starts much higher up for the Na'vi. For a long time, I thought maybe it was just creative hairstyling on the part of the Na'vi, but in scenes where the braid is flowing- it is clear that there is no lower connection.

One thing I've seen mentioned and debated elsewhere is Mo'at's queue. She wears it in the front, and it isn't clear as to whether or not it is split, or she just has a secondary braid to make it look that way...

[Txantslusam Skxawng]

The queue placement probably has to do with a different brain. While their brains must be similar to a degree for something like the Avatar program to work, things could be in different places. The queue is controlled by a lobe not found in the human brain, so it was the most difficult part of the program. Do to the placement on the Avatar, my guess is that the lobe control queue is closely linked to the cerebellum or limbic system. Both are considered to be the oldest parts of our brain and go way back in our evolutionary history. The cerebellum deals with cordination, balance, and what not, while the limbic system deals with emotion. Since the majority of the animals we've seen have a queue we can assume it also developed rather early in their evolution and is a core part of their brain structrue, thus it probably would be located near the other older parts of their brain, i.e. their equvilance of the cerebellum and limbic systems.

The last several time's I've watched the movie (and there have been "several", I should have stock in a couple of theater companies) I've been watching the queue locations on the Na'vi carefully. We already know where it is located on an Avatar, thanks to the brain scan when Jake first enters his Avatar. The ASG says making the Avatar brain compatible with the human driver was the most difficult part because the Na'vi brain physiology is considerably different. It's almost like they had to tack on the queue in later development, but who knows. In any case- in every clear view of the Na'vi queue in the movie, it appears to be much higher on the back of the skull. At first, I thought maybe it was just some creative hairstyling by the Na'vi. Neytiri wears decorations at the top of her queue, and it is clear in several scenes where it is flowing that there is nothing below it.

Someone else said they thought Jake's queue moved up during the movie. I think that IS more about hairstyling, especially near the end when he gets his new haircut. It's likely that Neytiri (or whoever did his hair) was trying to make it LOOK like his queue was up higher, so he would be more accepted, not that becoming Toruk Makto didn't pretty-much guarantee that.


As others have noted- after watching the movie several time (I should own stock in a particular theater chain), it became obvious that the Na'vi and Avatar queues emerge from different portions of their scull. It is very clear from the brain scan when Jake first enters his Avatar that the queue emerges near the base of the skull. It starts much higher up for the Na'vi. For a long time, I thought maybe it was just creative hairstyling on the part of the Na'vi, but in scenes where the braid is flowing- it is clear that there is no lower connection.

One thing I've seen mentioned and debated elsewhere is Mo'at's queue. She wears it in the front, and it isn't clear as to whether or not it is split, or she just has a secondary braid to make it look that way...

Thats very good for your first post!
About the queue, i think your right:

• Avatar queue: at the base of the skull
• Na'vi queue: higher up the skull