Early humans may have cared for disabled young

New Scientist ^ | March 31, 2009 | Ewen Callaway

[SunkenCiv]

A recently unearthed ancient human skull shows signs of a disorder that might have caused mental retardation. This offers the earliest evidence that ancestors of Homo sapiens did not abandon young with severe birth defects.

The 500,000-year-old skeleton belonged to a five to 12-year-old child who suffered from craniosynostosis. The rare congenital condition occurs when two of the flat bones that make up the skull fuse together along their margins (sutures) too early during fetal development, hindering brain growth. Spanish researchers discovered the first pieces of the skull near Atapuerca, Spain, in 2001, but they only recently pieced enough of it together to make a conclusive diagnosis...

The child suffered from a form of craniosynostosis that occurs in about 1 in every 200,000 children. He or she was a member of the species Homo heidelbergensis, -- early humans that lived in Europe up to 800,000 years ago and may have given rise to Neanderthals. The discovery marks the earliest example of a human skeleton with signs of a physical deformity that that might have made the individual dependent on others for survival. Most animals, including primates, sacrifice or abandon young born with crippling deformities, Gracia says. It's impossible to know whether the child suffered from any cognitive problems, but he or she would undoubtedly have looked different from family and friends, she says.

[SunkenCiv]

snip, no URL, old file:

Study: Prehistoric People Cared for Kin
by Will Dunham

Studying human remains found in southeastern France dating back 175,000 to 200,000 years ago, anthropologists determined that a toothless and apparently very old member of a group of archaic European people called pre-Neanderthals survived for quite a long time despite needing others to prepare food.

[SunkenCiv]

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[chuck_the_tv_out]

But what possible evolutionary benefit would this bring??!!

Early humans would be ~5500BC.

[chuck_the_tv_out]

should read ~3500BC.

[Logic n' Reason]

Or....sacrificed them....or in some cases, consumed them.

[Moonman62]

But what possible evolutionary benefit would this bring??!!

Possibly none, but it could be a side effect of social cooperation and love for one another.

[humblegunner]

More like six million years.

[chuck_the_tv_out]

there is no evidence for that.

[chuck_the_tv_out]

“love”? what is “love” under the evolutionary model? there is only self-replication!

[djf]

That’s what I was thinking... early humans may have eaten disabled young...

[humblegunner]

there is no evidence for that.

There are these new things called "fossils".. amazing stuff.

[chuck_the_tv_out]

yep, and they’re not as old as you’re told!

[Boxen]

[LucyT]

that might have made the individual dependent on others for survival.

[snip]

But what possible evolutionary benefit would this bring??!!

This is evidence their life wasn't completely focused on their own survival; they had the ability to love another human.

[mquinn]

Ugh. Young Earthers, here on the FR?

[calex59]

There is evidence that Neanderthals took care of disabled people from study of the bones of Neanderthals found with broken legs, arms ect, where the break had healed long before the person died. There is also ample evidence that Homo Sapiens in many societies abandoned wounded adults and children born with defects. I am sure there were tribes that didn't abandon them but we know for a fact many not only abandoned their defective children, they sacrificed healthy children and adults to their Gods in order to have a good harvest and great hunts.

Can't escape the fact that primitive tribes were just that, primitive. They were brutal in many ways and did what they thought would insure their survival regardless of what it cost them emotionally.

[wildbill]

No sense in throwing away good meat that might come in handy.

[chuck_the_tv_out]

lol! haven't spent much time reading here have you?

I simply asked for evidence. If that makes you turn up your nose in disgust, so be it.

[chuck_the_tv_out]

Absolutely, I totally agree.

[chuck_the_tv_out]

Come now, you must get your metaphors straight. We mustn’t misuse metaphors or the mileage we can muster from them moderates.

When Obama says “Washington Special Interests”, THAT’S a Straw Man.

Evolution is more like a Sacred Cow...