Neanderthal Infants: Much Larger Than Modern Human Babies

Recent research indicates that Neanderthal infants were likely physically smaller than their homo sapiens counterparts. A study analyzing the remains of an ancient Neanderthal infant supports this finding.

“We still have limited knowledge about the developmental milestones of Neanderthal babies,” explains Ella Bean, a researcher at Ono Academic College, Israel. “We don’t understand if their milestones, like walking, differed from modern humans,” she adds, noting that while they were larger than expected, they were “not necessarily chubby.”

Bean and her team conducted an in-depth anatomical study of a nearly complete Neanderthal skeleton discovered in Israel, dating back approximately 51,000 to 56,000 years.

The infant, dubbed Amdo 7, was excavated in 1992, about 4 kilometers from the western shores of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Its sex remains undetermined, making Amdo 7 one of the rare young Neanderthals documented.

Neanderthals thrived as the predominant human species across Eurasia for hundreds of thousands of years until climate changes and competition from modern humans contributed to their extinction approximately 40,000 years ago.

According to Bean, Amdo 7 was roughly six months old at its time of death, as determined through tooth eruption patterns and internal microstructural analyses.

Interestingly, the skull and bone measurements show that Amdo 7 is comparable to a 12- to 14-month-old modern human, indicating discrepancies in dental and skeletal maturation.

Bean highlights that findings from Amdo 7 matched those of two other Neanderthal infants: a two-year-old from Syria and a three-year-old from Roque de Marsal in France, revealing consistent trends among these ancient children.

“The prevalent patterns in three distinct Neanderthal infants indicate that these differences are significant,” Bean asserts.

Attempting to align these Neanderthal growth markers with those of homo sapiens proves challenging, she contends.

Further, Bean suggests that Neanderthal infants had varying growth rates compared to modern humans, potentially driven by higher energy needs. However, by age seven, the growth trajectories align more closely between both species.

Bean believes that Amdo 7’s dental development suggests an estimated age of around seven, contrasting with skeletal indicators.

“I estimate Amdo 7 to be nearly six months old,” Bean notes. “Neanderthal infants exhibited faster growth rates during their early years compared to modern humans.”

According to Bean, smaller bodies lose heat more rapidly, indicating that Neanderthals were likely adapted to the severe environments they inhabited.

Chris Stringer, a prominent researcher at London’s Natural History Museum, emphasizes that Amdo 7 plays a pivotal role in illuminating Neanderthal development.

“Compiling all the evidence, we’ve identified three distinct growth stages characteristic of young Neanderthals,” he states. In newborns, dental development is harmonized with overall physical growth, while in infants like Amdo 7, rapid physical growth occurs alongside slower tooth development. However, as children mature, these growth patterns eventually synchronize.

Bean concludes that Neanderthals were roughly comparable in size to adult homo sapiens, though the latter tended to be taller.