It has been determined by scientists that Neanderthal infants, during their initial months of life, significantly surpassed their Homo sapiens counterparts in terms of physical maturation. The findings of this research were made public in the journal Current Biology. The basis for this discovery stems from an in-depth examination of a nearly complete skeleton belonging to a young Neanderthal who resided in the area now known as Israel approximately 51,000 to 56,000 years ago. This specimen, designated Amud 7, was unearthed in a cave near the western shore of the Sea of Galilee back in 1992. Its gender could not be ascertained. Based on dental wear, the child was roughly six months old at the time of death. Nevertheless, the length of its bones and the degree of brain development were comparable to a modern human aged 12 to 14 months. Researchers from Ono Academic College in Israel contrasted Amud 7 with two other documented Neanderthal juveniles: one from Syria aged two years, and another from France aged three years. In all three instances, the identical pattern was evident, ruling out mere coincidence. “Throughout the initial years of life, spanning from birth through early childhood, Neanderthals exhibited faster growth rates than contemporary humans,” states Ella Been, the primary author of the study. She further notes that these children were robust, but “not necessarily chubby.” This accelerated growth was likely an adaptation to harsh climatic environments; smaller bodies lose heat quicker, making rapid mass acquisition advantageous. By roughly age seven, the developmental disparities between Neanderthal children and Homo sapiens children diminished, with subsequent development proceeding along similar trajectories. Adult Neanderthals reached heights comparable to modern humans, although slightly shorter overall.
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