Neanderthal Babies May Have Started Teething Early

Archaeology ^ | Thursday, December 2, 2021 | editors

[SunkenCiv]

According to a statement released by the University of Kent, Neanderthal infants may have developed faster than modern human babies, based upon the study of a 120,000-year-old Neanderthal milk tooth discovered in what is now Croatia by an international team of researchers led by Patrick Mahoney of the University of Kent. The enamel that covers baby teeth has lines demarcating enamel produced before and after birth, and the space between the lines indicates how much enamel was grown in a single day, according to prior research. Analysis of the lines in this tooth indicates that the tooth erupted from the child’s gum between four and seven months of age. In modern humans, baby teeth usually begin to appear between seven and ten months of age. Similar markings were also found on the three intact teeth in another Neanderthal jawbone. The researchers suggest that Neanderthal children may therefore have begun eating solid foods earlier than modern human children, perhaps to fuel their potentially larger brains. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[SunkenCiv]

Barely related sidebars:

• VUB-researchers identify interglobular dentine in cremated human teeth
• Ancient breastfeeding habits in Andes survive in modern day Peru

[SunkenCiv]

The Neandertal Enigma
by James Shreeve
in local libraries

"Frayer's own reading of the record reveals a number of overlooked traits that clearly and specifically link the Neandertals to the Cro-Magnons. One such trait is the shape of the opening of the nerve canal in the lower jaw, a spot where dentists often give a pain-blocking injection. In many Neandertal, the upper portion of the opening is covered by a broad bony ridge, a curious feature also carried by a significant number of Cro-Magnons. But none of the alleged 'ancestors of us all' fossils from Africa have it, and it is extremely rare in modern people outside Europe." [pp 126-127]

KEYWORDS: neandertal; neandertals; neanderthal; neanderthals

[SunkenCiv]

Neanderthal Known as “Old Man of La Chapelle” Re-Examined
Friday, December 3, 2021
https://www.archaeology.org/news/10177-211203-neanderthal-brucellosis-diagnosis

According to a CNN report, researchers led by Martin Häusler of the University of Zurich think the Neanderthal individual known as the “Old Man of La Chapelle” may have suffered from brucellosis in addition to osteoarthritis. The symptoms of brucellosis include fever, muscular pain, and night sweats, and over time, arthritis pain, back pain, infertility, and endocarditis, or inflammation of the heart valves. Häusler thinks the man, who died between the ages of 50 and 60 some 50,000 years ago in central France, had a mild form of the disease since he lived into old age. Today, the disease is usually caused by consuming unpasteurized milk or cheese from infected goats or sheep, direct contact with infected animals, or inhaling airborne organisms. The inflammation observed on the bones of this Neanderthal man may have come from butchering or cooking infected wild sheep or cattle, bison, reindeer, hares, or marmots. Mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses, which were also animals hunted by Neanderthals, are unlikely to have carried the disease, Häusler explained, because it is rarely found in their living relatives today. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Scientific Reports.

[Sacajaweau]

One tooth and $100,000 in Grant Money. Life is good.

[Larry Lucido]

Folks were probably in a hurry to teethe, what with being chased by mammoths and wooly rhinoceroses and all.

[Night Hides Not]

...and sabretoothed tigers.

[Delta 21]

There is too much variance in when humanoids get their baby teeth. Ive known relatives born with a tooth. And some that dont start teething til 18 months.

[BradyLS]

“You’re ready for fruits and nuts, kid!”

[centurion316]

Ouch, I’m sure that their mothers were not happy about that.

[gundog]

Neaderthals invented the binky.

[bgill]

Gnawing on bones vs. mushy Gerber baby food

[Organic Panic]

Must have been climate change.

[SFmom]

Hmmmm. Our first grandchild, now 5-1/2 months old is cutting his first tooth. Guess we have a Neanderthal! He’s a cute Neanderthal anyway!

[Tennessee Nana]

Them there dinosaurs were tough eating ...

[SunkenCiv]

And the cartons of coleslaw that came with the filets? Hard to carry.

[Tennessee Nana]

Eh ???

[SuzyQue]

Agreed. This is one where the study made too many inferences based on inadequate data, and somebody in the news thought it was worth reporting on.

[Verginius Rufus]

My great-niece who is 5 months old is teething also. Obviously has some Neanderthal ancestry, but very cute.

[Verginius Rufus]

Ive known relatives born with a tooth.

And some humanoids are born with a silver spoon in their mouth.

[Red Badger]

Jethro Bodine was born with a full set of teeth........................