Chagyrskaya Cave in the Alta Mountains of southern Siberia / an artist’s impression of a Neanderthal man and child.

Archaeologists examining finds dug up in a Spanish cave network in 1989 found skull fragments of a 6-year-old Neanderthal, which would have been exciting on its own, but the skull carried two major surprises.

The first is that an analysis of the inner ear canal showed signs of Down Syndrome, the earliest-known evidence of the genetic condition.

The second is that the child survived until 6, indicating compassion and willingness to bear extra work on behalf of individuals in a group who couldn’t take care of themselves. It gives a new perspective on the instincts for kindness and caring among our earlier ancestors.

Discovered in the Valencia region’s cave complex known as Cova Negra, Homo neanderthalensis activity at the site was dated to between 273,000 and 146,000 years ago.

An analysis of fragments that made up the individual’s temporal bone, which protects the inner ear canal, showed alterations only known in those with Down Syndrome. Other abnormalities include a smaller cochlea, the main hearing component of the audio organ, and irregularities in the formation of the semicircular canals, three small tubes that govern balance and sense head position.

“The pathology which this individual suffered resulted in highly disabling symptoms, including, at the very least, complete deafness, severe vertigo attacks and an inability to maintain balance,” said Mercedes Conde-Valverde, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Alcalá in Spain.

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The lead author of the study of the bone fragments, published in the journal Science Advances, told the Guardian that the sex of the individual is unknown, but they call it Tina for short.

“Given these symptoms, it is highly unlikely that the mother alone could have provided all the necessary care while also attending to her own needs. Therefore, for Tina to have survived for at least six years, the group must have continuously assisted the mother, either by relieving her in the care of the child, helping with her daily tasks, or both,” Conde-Valverde added.

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It’s taken many years for scholars to agree that Neanderthals had virtually the same capacities for what we might call ‘humanity’ as their cousins Homo sapiens. 

It’s been discovered that they created art using pigments, used symbolic objects and perhaps even a spoken language, engaged in group hunting methods, and demonstrated tolerance and reciprocity.

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