Early life of Neanderthals
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: The early onset of weaning in modern humans has been linked to the high nutritional demand of brain development that is intimately connected with infant physiology and growth rate. In Neanderthals, ontogenetic patterns in early life are still debated, with some studies suggesting an accelerated development and others indicating only subtle differences vs. modern humans. Here we report the onset of weaning and rates of enamel growth using an unprecedented sample set of three late (∼70 to 50 ka) Neanderthals and one Upper Paleolithic modern human from northeastern Italy via spatially resolved chemical/isotopic analyses and histomorphometry of deciduous teeth. Our results reveal that the modern human nursing strategy, with onset of weaning at 5 to 6 mo, was present among these Neanderthals. This evidence, combined with dental development akin to modern humans, highlights their similar metabolic constraints during early life and excludes late weaning as a factor contributing to Neanderthals' demise.
Authors: Alessia Nava, Federico Lugli, Matteo Romandini, Federica Badino, David Evans, Angela H. Helbling, Gregorio Oxilia, Simona Arrighi, Eugenio Bortolini, Davide Delpiano, Rossella Duches, Carla Figus, Alessandra Livraghi, Giulia Marciani, Sara Silvestrini, Anna Cipriani, Tommaso Giovanardi, Roberta Pini, Claudio Tuniz, Federico Bernardini, Irene Dori, Alfredo Coppa, Emanuela Cristiani, Christopher Dean, Luca Bondioli, Marco Peresani, Wolfgang Müller, Stefano Benazzi
Institutions: University of Kent, Sapienza University of Rome, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, University of Bologna, Recherche translationnelle sur le diabète et les troubles métaboliques, Il Laboratorio, Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering, National Research Council, Goethe University Frankfurt, University of Ferrara, Museo delle Scienze, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), University of Wollongong, Centro Ricerche Enrico Fermi, University of Florence, University of Vienna, Harvard University, Natural History Museum, University College London, University of Padua, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: Università Degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emila, European Commission, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Università di Bologna, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Wilhelm und Else Heraeus-Stiftung, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, Natural Environment Research Council, Royal Holloway, University of London, H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Awards: G1311090270, WEaning practices in ANcient ITaly: from Neolithic farmers to the first cities, WEaning practices in ANcient ITaly: from Neolithic farmers to the first cities, G285994706, G3345895242, G3547849261, G4052044237, G4689608210, G4962321983, G5069481860, G5237714278, G6329715174, G6509606559, G7344303401, G7524725515, G8156542052, G8512683158, G881307142, G990998656
OpenAlex ID: W3096982286