A new analysis of an unusually shaped ear bone found in a cave in Spain reveals that a 6-year-old Neanderthal child had Down syndrome.
The ear bone was originally excavated in 1989 at Cova Negra in Xàtiva, a town in the Valencia province of Spain. Other Neanderthal artifacts in the cave date back between 273,000 and 146,000 years ago. However, the bone—a fragment of the temporal bone—was mixed with animal remains and went unidentified until recently.
Reconstruction of a group of Neanderthals in a cave (Photo: Bjanka Kadic via Alamy Stock Photo).
The research team utilized micro-CT (micro-computed tomography) to scan the bone, allowing them to create a 3D digital model of it.
The team found that the ear bone of the child, nicknamed Tina, exhibited unusual shapes consistent with Down syndrome. It also showed other abnormalities, such as a smaller cochlea and anomalies in the lateral semicircular canal (LSC), the shortest of the three semicircular canals, which could lead to severe hearing loss and dizziness.
This is the first known case of Down syndrome in Neanderthals, our closest relatives who lived in Eurasia from about 400,000 to 40,000 years ago.
In fact, the child’s difficult childhood suggests that the Neanderthal group cared for her attentively. This evidence indicates that Neanderthals exhibited altruistic behavior.
“This child would have required care for at least six years, which may have necessitated other group members to assist the mother in caring for the child,” the researchers wrote in a study recently published in the journal Science Advances.
