Neandertal growth patterns The ontogeny of different parts of the Neandertal skeleton has been derived from isolated bones and fragments. Rosas et al. present a more complete skeleton of a Neandertal child, aged 7 to 8 years, from a 49,000-year-old site in northern Spain. The skeleton preserves dental, cranial, and postcranial material, allowing the assessment of dental and skeletal maturation with age. Most of the elements indicate an overall growth rate similar to that of modern human children. The main difference between Neandertals and modern humans is in the vertebral column. Also, several features indicate ongoing brain growth. The pattern of vertebral maturation and extended brain growth might reflect the broad Neandertal body form and physiology, rather than a fundamental difference in the overall pace of growth in Neandertals. Science, this issue p. 1282 Neandertals show differential growth modulation to that of modern humans to accommodate specific brain and body form. Ontogenetic studies help us understand the processes of evolutionary change. Previous studies on Neandertals have focused mainly on dental development and inferred an accelerated pace of general growth. We report on a juvenile partial skeleton (El Sidrón J1) preserving cranio-dental and postcranial remains. We used dental histology to estimate the age at death to be 7.7 years. Maturation of most elements fell within the expected range of modern humans at this age. The exceptions were the atlas and mid-thoracic vertebrae, which remained at the 5- to 6-year stage of development. Furthermore, endocranial features suggest that brain growth was not yet completed. The vertebral maturation pattern and extended brain growth most likely reflect Neandertal physiology and ontogenetic energy constraints rather than any fundamental difference in the overall pace of growth in this extinct human.

中文翻译：

---

尼安德特人的生长模式，由来自 El Sidrón（西班牙）的少年骨骼重建而成

尼安德特人的生长模式 尼安德特人骨骼不同部分的个体发育来源于孤立的骨骼和碎片。罗萨斯等人。展示了一个更完整的尼安德特儿童骨骼，年龄在 7 到 8 岁之间，来自西班牙北部一个 49,000 年的遗址。骨骼保留牙齿、颅骨和颅后材料，允许评估牙齿和骨骼随着年龄的增长。大多数元素表明整体增长率与现代人类儿童相似。尼安德特人与现代人的主要区别在于脊柱。此外，有几个特征表明大脑在持续增长。椎骨成熟和大脑生长延长的模式可能反映了尼安德特人广泛的身体形态和生理机能，而不是尼安德特人整体生长速度的根本差异。科学，这个问题 1282 尼安德特人显示出与现代人不同的生长调节，以适应特定的大​​脑和身体形态。个体遗传学研究帮助我们了解进化变化的过程。以前对尼安德特人的研究主要集中在牙齿发育上，并推断出总体增长速度加快。我们报告了保存颅牙和颅后遗骸的少年部分骨骼 (El Sidrón J1)。我们使用牙科组织学估计死亡年龄为 7.7 岁。大多数元素的成熟度都在这个年龄段现代人的预期范围内。例外是寰椎和中胸椎，它们仍处于 5 至 6 年的发育阶段。此外，颅内特征表明大脑发育尚未完成。