Figure 1.--This museum exhibit depicts an elderly Neanderthal man and boy. It seems to be a lesson about making flint tools. Source: Vienna Museum of Natural History

We know little about Neanderthal children. Recent studies suggest thst Neanderthal children grew up fast. Researchers at the Max Planck-Gesellschaft have honed in on tooth growth, useful because in some cse all thst have been found are teeth. And studies of tooth growth suggests rapid maturation in a Neanderthal child. Neanderthal life history meaning the timing of developmental and reproductive events is a matter of controversy. For most primates tooth development, specifically the age of molar eruption, is related to other developmental landmarks such as weaning and first reproduction. Researchers believe that the development maturity of a Neanderthal 5-year approximates that of a human 12-year old. [Max Plank Institute] Polish researchers have found that previously discovered fosils are the Neaderthlal remains found in Poland, dating back to the Ice Age (100,000 BP). That is 50,000 years earlier than previous finds. The remains are from the hand of a Neanderthal child that was killed and eaten by a giant Ice Age-era bird. [de la Garza] The giant bird is evidence of one of the many hazards that not only these children, but adults had to face. It is an open question as to the extent Neatherthals and other early humans were scavengers or hunters. Earlier honnoids are more likely to have been scavengers.

Sources

(de la) Garza, Alejandro. "Researchers discover Neanderthal child was devoured by a giant bird," Time (October 14, 2018).

(Max) Plank Institute. "Neanderthal children grew up fast, Science Daily (December 5, 2007).

Created: 4:03 AM 11/29/2018
Last updated: 4:03 AM 11/29/2018