Neanderthal infants were enormous compared to modern humans.

A six-month-old Neanderthal infant could have the skeleton of a modern one-and-a-half-year-old child. I am not exaggerating: this is the case of Amud 7, an infant found in a cave near the Sea of Galilee in Israel. He had the teeth of a six-month-old baby, but his bones and brain were already comparable to those of a Sapiens child aged 12 to 14 months. It almost sounds like science fiction, but here’s a lesson that overturns what we think about human growth: there is no “normal” timeline that applies to all human species. We are used to thinking that growing slowly is synonymous with complex development, with a sophisticated brain that needs time to mature. But Neanderthals were the opposite: they hit the ground running, they grew quickly, and in the first few years of life, they gained body mass and brain mass at twice our rate. And this was not an anomaly found in just one skeleton: Amud 7 is not an isolated case. Ella Been, who led the study, found the same pattern in two other young Neanderthals, a two-year-old in Syria and a three-year-old in France. All of them were huge compared to Sapiens of the same age, with bones months ahead of their teeth. The most fascinating aspect is that this turbo growth came to a halt at a certain point: around the age of seven, Neanderthal and Sapiens children returned to the same developmental trajectory. According to Been, this initial acceleration was a ruthless adaptation. Living in cold environments meant having to grow up fast, because a small body loses heat quickly. Neanderthals needed to become “sturdy” as soon as possible. Chris Stringer, a leading figure in paleontology, states that three distinct phases have been identified: as infants, teeth and body grow together; then, during early childhood, the body and brain surge ahead while the teeth lag behind; as children get older, everything returns to sync, but the brain continues its rapid development. And when did they become adults? Neanderthals were not giants; on the contrary, they were stocky, but with a build similar to ours. There is one detail that is rarely mentioned: our extinct cousins were not simply “stronger” or “more primitive.” They were structured differently from the very first weeks of life. Try to imagine what it means to have to invest so much energy in growth over just a few months: Neanderthal childhood was probably more risky, but also more intense. Now, the point that is almost always missed when talking about ancient children is this: growth is not just biology; it is survival. Why didn't the same strategy evolve in us sapiens? Perhaps because we have opted for a long childhood, more time for learning, and more room for culture. But the nature of Neanderthals was: grow up fast, survive, adapt quickly. In short: forget the idea that children have always been “small and helpless.” For Neanderthals, childhood was a race against time and against the cold. If this perspective surprises you, you can press I'm In on Lara Notes: it's not a like; it's your way of saying that this story is now part of your understanding of human development. And if tomorrow at dinner you tell someone that Neanderthal babies were mini-giants compared to us, on Lara Notes you can tag those who were present with Shared Offline: that way, that conversation won’t be lost. This story comes from New Scientist and has saved you almost eight minutes of reading time.