Ontogenetic variation in the Dederiyeh Neandertal infants: Postcranial evidence

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511542565.016

16 - Ontogenetic variation in the Dederiyeh Neandertal infants: Postcranial evidence

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 August 2009

O. Kondo and

Edited by

G. E. Krovitz and

O. Kondo: Affiliation:
University of Tokyo
H. Ishida: Affiliation:
University of the Ryukyus
J. L. Thompson: Affiliation:
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
G. E. Krovitz: Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
A. J. Nelson: Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario

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Summary

Introduction

Neandertal growth and development has been a recent focus in paleoanthropological studies. Although it has long been recognized that the study of the emergence of the modern human pattern of growth is essential and important for human evolution (e.g. Brothwell, 1975), the practical studies have been limited. This was mainly due to the small number of available specimens of both fossils and modern humans. However, recent progress in fieldwork and research methods has been restimulating us to the ontogenetic point of view in paleoanthropological records. Most of these studies have focused on the cranium and dentition, because of abundance of materials and close association of growth assessment with an individual's age estimation. The studies based on postcranial bones have been rare. Thus, several key hypotheses concerning the evolution of human growth have been produced mainly on the dental and cranial evidence.

In this situation, a few scenarios have been proposed for the growth of Neandertals, but the field has yet to arrive at a consensus. We review them here briefly, based on dental, cranial, and postcranial evidence in order.

Studies based on the dentition have dealt with a variety of sources of data: the timing and sequence of dental development (Dean et al., 1986; Smith, 1991b), the rate of enamel formation (Dean et al., 2001), and the relative timing of crown formation (Tompkins, 1996). The dental developmental schedule for Neandertals has been interpreted to be like that of modern humans.

Type: Chapter
Information: Patterns of Growth and Development in the Genus Homo , pp. 386 - 411

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511542565.016 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2003

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