A fossil analysis of a Neanderthal child with Down syndrome sheds light on the compassion and social support within early human communities.
The Neanderthal child survived to at least six years of age, suggesting extensive care from other members of their social group.
Researchers have found that Neanderthals, an extinct group of archaic humans living in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago, were capable of providing altruistic care. The first case of Down syndrome in Neanderthals revealed via a fossil analysis shows that they provided support for the vulnerable members of their social group.
Based on skull anatomy, the Neanderthal child survived until age six despite having Down syndrome, a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or a portion of a third copy of chromosome 21. The disorder can cause intellectual disability, growth retardation, and developmental delays.
“The excavations at Cova Negra have been key to understanding the way of life of the Neanderthals along the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula and have allowed us to define the occupations of the settlement: of short temporal duration and with a small number of individuals, alternating with the presence of carnivores,” said University of Valencia Professor ofNeandertal child suffered from a congenital pathology of the inner earassociated with Down syndrome that produced severe hearing...
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