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Neanderthals
were no strangers to good parenting
Neanderthals
were no strangers to good parenting
Date:
April 9,
2014
Source:
University of York
Summary:
Archaeologists are challenging the traditional view
that Neanderthal childhood was difficult, short and dangerous. A new and
distinctive perspective suggests that Neanderthal children experienced strong
emotional attachments with their immediate social group, used play to develop
skills and played a significant role in their society.
.................................
Archaeologists at the University of York are challenging the
traditional view that Neanderthal childhood was difficult, short and dangerous.
A research
team from PALAEO (Centre for Human Palaeoecology and Evolutionary Origins) and
the Department of Archaeology at York offer a new and distinctive perspective
which suggests that Neanderthal children experienced strong emotional
attachments with their immediate social group, used play to develop skills and
played a significant role in their society.
The
traditional perception of the toughness of Neanderthal childhood is based
largely on biological evidence, but the archaeologists, led by Dr Penny
Spikins, also studied cultural and social evidence to explore the experience of
Neanderthal children.In research published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology,
they found that Neanderthal childhood experience was subtly different from that
of their modern human counterparts in that it had a greater focus on social
relationships within their group. Investigation of Neanderthal burials suggests
that children played a particularly significant role in their society,
particularly in symbolic expression.
The research
team, which also included Gail Hitchens, Andy Needham and Holly Rutherford, say
there is evidence that Neanderthals cared for their sick and injured children
for months and often years. The study of child burials, meanwhile, reveals that
the young may have been given particular attention when they died, with
generally more elaborate graves than older individuals.Neanderthal groups are
believed to have been small and relatively isolated, suggesting important
implications for the social and emotional context of childhood. Living in
rugged terrain, there will have been little selection pressure on overcoming
the tendency to avoid outside groups with a consequent natural emotional focus
on close internal connections.
Dr Spikins,
who has a new book on why altruism was central to human evolutionary origins, How
Compassion Made Us Human, (Pen and Sword) published later this year, said:
"The traditional view sees Neanderthal childhood as unusually harsh,
difficult and dangerous. This accords with preconceptions about Neanderthal
inferiority and an inability to protect children epitomising Neanderthal
decline.
"Our
research found that a close attachment and particular attention to children is
a more plausible interpretation of the archaeological evidence, explaining an
unusual focus on infants and children in burial, and setting Neanderthal
symbolism within a context which is likely to have included children.
"Interpretations
of high activity levels and frequent periods of scarcity form part of the basis
for this perceived harsh upbringing. However, such challenges in childhood may
not be distinctive from the normal experience of early Palaeolithic human
children, or contemporary hunter-gatherers in particularly cold environments.
There is a critical distinction to be made between a harsh childhood and a
childhood lived in a harsh environment."
Story
Source:
The above
story is based on materials provided by University of York. Note: Materials may be edited
for content and length.
Journal
Reference:
- Penny Spikins, Gail Hitchens, Andy Needham and Holly Rutherford. The Cradle of Thought: growth, learning and play attachment in Neanderthal children. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 2014 DOI: 10.1111/ojoa.12030
Cite This
Page:
University of York.
"Neanderthals were no strangers to good parenting." ScienceDaily.
ScienceDaily, 9 April 2014.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140409093947.htm>.