Neanderthal fossils with Down's syndrome suggest group care

The bone fragment was discovered in the Cova Negra cave archaeological site in the Valencian region of Spain and analyzed by a team led by Mercedes Conde Valverde of the University of Alcalá in Madrid. Their results, published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, concluded that the bone fragment likely comes from the inner ear of a six-year-old child.

The specimen showed evidence of anomalies. And this syndrome is [the fossil] “Down syndrome,” the authors write.

Down syndrome, which is also found in apes and modern humans, would have posed a number of challenges to an infant's survival, including “weak sucking ability” that made breastfeeding difficult, poor motor coordination and balance, and impaired cognitive development, the study said. The child probably suffered from severe hearing loss and frequent, acute and disabling episodes of dizziness and balance problems, the study added.

“Given the demanding lifestyle of Neanderthals, including their highly mobile nature, it is unlikely that the individual's mother could have provided such care alone and carried out normal daily activities over an extended period of time,” the authors write.

Mothers were therefore likely to have received ongoing support from other members of their social groups, the researchers added.

Neanderthals, or Homo neanderthalensis, A close relative of modern humans, they became extinct about 40,000 years ago and left traces in Europe, Southwest Asia and Central Asia, where they evolved as our ancestors. — Smart person — They likely evolved in Africa and diverged from a common ancestor at least 500,000 years ago. according to The Natural History Museum in England.

Previous research has shown that Neanderthals may have looked out for vulnerable members of their groups. In 2018, researchers from the University of York We have considered the available evidence They conclude that Neanderthal fossil samples with healed wounds suggest that medical care was widespread, which the authors argue was likely motivated by investment in the well-being of members of the social group.

“This study provides intriguing evidence of kinship care in other human species. The survival of young children with disabilities is likely the result of group rearing, because their pathology would have profoundly affected their ability to survive on their own,” Sophia C. Samper-Caro, a senior lecturer in archaeology specializing in Neanderthal behavior at the Australian National University, who was not involved in the study, said in an email.

“For decades, there has been great interest in the debate over why we, as anatomically modern humans, are unique in evolutionary history. Why do we [survive] “Why did we survive when other people did?” says Sampar-Callo. “One of the proposed factors for why Neanderthals escaped extinction is that our creativity and our compassion, our care for others, made us more likely to survive.”

Other scientists say Neanderthals may have cared for sick or injured companions not out of compassion but because they expected reciprocity. Critics say compassion cannot be authoritatively inferred from remains, and inferences require many assumptions, the Science Advances paper acknowledges. Evidence of Neanderthal cannibalism published in 2016 He also points out the cruelty of this race.

But the fossils of children with Down's syndrome are “particularly intriguing because social care was destined for immature individuals who were unlikely to reciprocate the help they received,” the study's authors noted. They added that the instinct to care may have a “very ancient origin” in our shared human genus.

“Proving a link between injury or medical condition and caring for dependents is difficult in ancient bones, but this paper… [provides] “There is ample evidence to show a clear link between child disabilities and Neanderthal caregiving efforts,” Samper-Caro said.

“Can we definitively prove that Neanderthals had this ability? Probably not, but studies like this one published are definitely a step in the right direction in shedding light on human uniqueness and Neanderthal less-than-humane behaviour,” she said.[It] The paper builds on contemporary research that shows how our assumptions about Neanderthal “savagery” need to be reconsidered and that the traditional clear-cut distinction between “simple” Neanderthals and “evolved” Homo sapiens is no longer tenable.”