The growth pattern of Neandertals, reconstructed from a juvenile skeleton from El Sidron (Spain)

We report on a juvenile partial skeleton (El Sidrón J1) preserving cranio-dental and postcranial remains. We used dental histology to estimate the age at death to be 7.7 years. Maturation of most elements fell within the expected range of modern humans at this age. The exceptions were the atlas and mid-thoracic vertebrae, which remained at the 5- to 6-year stage of development. Furthermore, endocranial features suggest that brain growth was not yet completed. The vertebral maturation pattern and extended brain growth most likely reflect Neandertal physiology and ontogenetic energy constraints rather than any fundamental difference in the overall pace of growth in this extinct human.

Source: ScienceNOW - September 21, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Rosas, A., Rios, L., Estalrrich, A., Liversidge, H., Garcia-Tabernero, A., Huguet, R., Cardoso, H., Bastir, M., Lalueza-Fox, C., de la Rasilla, M., Dean, C. Tags: Anthropology, Paleontology reports Source Type: news