Why Neandertal Babies Were Much Like Ours at Birth
Why Neandertal Babies Were Much Like Ours at Birth
Shared Roots
Brain Limits
Matching Size
Pregnancy Stress
Extended Dependence
Growth Shifts
Skull Shaping
Fast Maturation
High Calories
Evolutionary Trade Offs
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Fossils, scanned at high resolution, reveal that late-stage Neandertal pregnancies were very similar to those of humans. These evolutionary constraints ultimately set the growth of the infant's brain and body at birth, resulting in Neandertal babies being nearly the same size and shape as newborn humans.