Living among a small band of Neanderthals in what is now eastern Spain was a child, roughly 6 years old, with Down syndrome, as shown in a remarkable fossil preserving traits in the inner ear anatomy indicative of this serious genetic condition.
This fossil, unearthed at the Cova Negra archeological site in the province of Valencia, not only represents the earliest-known evidence of Down syndrome but, according to scientists, hints at compassionate caregiving in these extinct archaic humans - close cousins to our own species.
