Neanderthal Baby Fossils Show Humanlike Growth, More Advanced Foetal Bones in 50,000-75,000-Year Remains
Updated
Updated · news.uq.edu.au · Jun 16
Neanderthal Baby Fossils Show Humanlike Growth, More Advanced Foetal Bones in 50,000-75,000-Year Remains
3 articles · Updated · news.uq.edu.au · Jun 16
Summary
Ancient infant remains from 50,000-75,000 years ago suggest Neanderthals followed a developmental path broadly similar to modern humans, according to an international study of rare baby teeth and bones from Germany.
Micro-CT scans of the fragile fossils found bone-tissue patterns typical of a rapidly growing foetal skeleton, with long bones such as the femur and humerus showing more compact, organized growth than in a typical modern human baby.
Milk molars from up to 2 children also showed mineralization defects in the dentine, which researchers said could reflect early-life physiological stress linked to vitamin D or calcium deficiency, or impaired calcium absorption.
The fossils, unearthed in the 1960s and 1970s at Sesselfelsgrotte and only confirmed as Neanderthal around 20 years ago, offer rare evidence on a species that coexisted with Homo sapiens for about 5,000 years.