Researchers who studied milk teeth belonging to neanderthal children discovered that the parents of the young raised their children at a similar pace to modern day humans. Analysis of three different teeth of neanderthal children who loved between 70,000 and 45,000 years ago in northeastern Italy allowed the team to determine the pace of growth of the child and when they were weaned off their mother’s milk.
Teeth are a good indicator of growth, much in the same way rings on a tree can help to determine its age.
By looking at the chemical data, the team were able to show that neanderthal children began eating more solid food at around the 5-6 month mark, much like humans.
Alessia Nava, University of Kent and co-first author of the work, said: “The beginning of weaning relates to physiology rather than to cultural factors.
“In modern humans, in fact, the first introduction of solid food occurs at around six months of age when the child needs a more energetic food supply, and it is shared by very different cultures and societies.
“Now, we know that also Neanderthals started to wean their children when modern humans do.”
Federico Lugli of the University of Bologna, co-first author of the work, added: “In particular, compared to other primates, it is highly conceivable that the high energy demand of the growing human brain triggers the early introduction of solid foods in child diet.”
Humans and neanderthals are extremely closely related, sharing 99.7 percent of the same DNA.
However, the way they raised their young has been something of a mystery, but the new study published in the journal PNAS, sheds light on the mystery.
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While humans stayed in Africa, neanderthals spread across the globe, where resources are much more rich meaning that our ancient cousins may not have had to travel as much for food.
Wolfgang Müller of Goethe University Frankfurt, co-senior author, added: “They were less mobile than previously suggested by other scholars.
“The strontium isotope signature registered in their teeth indicates in fact that they have spent most of the time close to their home: this reflects a very modern mental template and a likely thoughtful use of local resources.”
Marco Peresani, University of Ferrara and co-senior author, said: “Despite the general cooling during the period of interest, Northeastern Italy has almost always been a place rich in food, ecological variability and caves, ultimately explaining the survival of Neanderthals in this region till about 45,000 years ago.”