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The only clues humans have when it comes to piecing together the lives of our ancestors—such as the Neanderthals—are the fossils they’ve left behind.
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One study analyzes an interesting fossil, nicknamed “Tina,” that displays symptoms of Down’s syndrome.
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This potentially highlights the types of care that occurred in these small, tight-knit Paleolithic communities.
One of the defining characteristics of the human species is its ability to care for others beyond some sort of Darwinian survival instinct. But that characteristic may not have been exclusive to the last remaining Hominid species on Earth.
A new discovery by an international team of archeologists examining fossils from the Cova Negra cave near Xàtiva, Spain—an area known to have housed Neanderthals some 273,000 to 146,000 years ago—found evidence of Down’s syndrome in a six-year-old Homo neanderthalensis, nicknamed “Tina.” This could provide an intimate glimpse into the caring nature of another species in the Homo genus.
The fossil in question is part of the temporal bone from the side and base of the skull, which also includes parts of the inner ear. This was a fortunate bone to uncover, as the researchers found particular developmental features in the semicircular canals of the inner ear that aid in balance—one canal was unusually wide, another was connected to a vestibular aqueduct (which is not typical), and the cochlea was particularly small. Today, these three traits are only found in individuals with Down’s syndrome. The results of the study were published this week in the journal Scientific Advances.
“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,” Mercedes Conde-Valverde, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Alcalá in Spain, told The Guardian. “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.”
This would be the first time such a diagnosis was found among Neanderthals, but it isn’t the first piece of evidence to suggest that Neanderthals lived more than a simply brutish, “survival of the fittest” existence. Past excavations of Shanidar Cave in northern Iraq discovered a Neanderthal male with deformities in both legs, withered arm, and partial blindness who still lived to adulthood (around 20 to 35 years old). Fossils of another human ancestor, Homo heidelbergensis, also displayed the care of individuals that would’ve required special needs or attention. Even chimpanzees displaying Down’s syndrome-like symptoms have lived longer than what was previously believed possible.
While the evidence of Tina experiencing Down’s syndrome is pretty convincing, some scientists say it isn’t enough to determine irrefutable facts about Neanderthal societies. Sarah Turner, a biologist at Concordia University in Montreal, told New Scientist that there is a lot of variation in what is considered a disability, and that someone with Tina’s proposed condition could still have contributed positively to the group.
The idea of productivity within the group also arises in-part from our modern perceptions of society. But in a small, close-knit group where social caring is an instinct, very affectionate and sociable individuals—as those with Down’s syndrome are known to be—can be very valuable.
There’s no certainty to the idea that Paleolithic societies would have viewed someone with such a disability as a burden. In fact, they could have been seen as a valuable asset. Either way, it certainly seems that Tina’s community stepped up for her.
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