ArticleScience advances2024
The child who lived: Down syndrome among Neanderthals?
Article in Science advances, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Bony labyrinth morphology reveals deep population history and isolation among Homo sapiens in prehistoric northeastern Africa (44-3 ka).Nature communications · 2026Article
- A taphonomic reassessment of Qafzeh 25 and its implications for violence, health and funerary practices.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Antibacterial properties of experimentally produced birch tar and its medicinal affordances in the Pleistocene.PloS one · 2026Article
- The history of Down syndrome-associated Alzheimer's disease; past, present, and future.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Caregiving for disabled individuals among Neanderthals has been known for a long time, and there is a debate about the implications of this behavior. Some authors believe that caregiving took place between individuals able to reciprocate the favor, while others argue that caregiving was produced by a feeling of compassion related to other highly adaptive prosocial behaviors. The study of children with severe pathologies is particularly interesting, as children have a very limited possibility to reciprocate the assistance. We present the case of a Neanderthal child who suffered from a congenital pathology of the inner ear, probably debilitating, and associated with Down syndrome. This child would have required care for at least 6 years, likely necessitating other group members to assist the mother in childcare.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.