A 6-year-old Neanderthal child had Down syndrome, a new analysis of an oddly shaped ear bone found in a cave in Spain suggests.
The finding is the first known case of Down syndrome in Neanderthals, our closest human relatives that lived in Eurasia from about 400,000 to 40,000 years ago. The fact that the child, nicknamed Tina, lived into early childhood suggests that her Neanderthal group cared for her, providing evidence that Neanderthals engaged in altruistic behavior.
