What a Neanderthal Baby Skeleton Revealed About Growing Up

What did infancy look like 55,000 years ago?

A remarkable new study led by researchers from Bar-Ilan University has reconstructed the most complete known skeleton of a Neanderthal infant approximately one year old, offering an unprecedented glimpse into the earliest stages of Neanderthal life.

Known as “Amud 7,” the infant’s remains were discovered in Amud Cave in the Upper Galilee and are now helping scientists answer one of prehistory’s most compelling questions: how similar were Neanderthals to us, and how different were they from the very beginning?

The study, published in Current Biology, was led by Dr. Alon Barash of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine at Bar-Ilan University and Prof. Ella Been of Ono Academic College, in collaboration with researchers from Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and international institutions.

A Rare Window Into Neanderthal Childhood

The infant’s remains were originally uncovered during excavations in the early 1990s at Amud Cave, one of the most important Neanderthal sites in the Levant. Around 20 human remains have been found there, all attributed to Neanderthals.

Dating to approximately 51,000 to 56,000 years ago, the child was between six and fourteen months old at death.

What makes this discovery extraordinary is completeness. Infant skeletons from prehistory are exceptionally rare, and even more so when preservation allows a full-body reconstruction.

Neanderthal Traits Were Present From Infancy

The skeleton shows unmistakable Neanderthal anatomical features already present during infancy, suggesting these differences were deeply biological rather than shaped later by environment or behavior.

Among the notable traits identified were more robust limb bones than those of modern infants, a strongly curved clavicle, a uniquely shaped shoulder blade, a deep pelvic groove, rounded tibia ends, and the absence of a chin.

Together, these findings suggest that the classic Neanderthal body plan emerged very early in life.

“This is an exceptional skeleton,” said Prof. Ella Been. “Every bone we examined, from the clavicle to the tibia, carries a Neanderthal signature. The fact that these differences appear so early suggests they were deeply rooted in biology.”

Faster Growth, Bigger Demands

One of the study’s most striking findings is evidence that Neanderthal infants may have grown faster than modern human babies.

Based on body size and estimated brain volume, approximately 879 cubic centimeters, Amud 7 resembled a modern infant several months older than its dental age would suggest.

That mismatch matters.

Detailed dental analysis estimated the infant’s tooth age at just 5.5 to 6.8 months, significantly younger than the developmental age implied by the skeleton and brain. This suggests a faster pace of body and brain growth than is typical in Homo sapiens.

Researchers believe this may reflect a species-wide developmental strategy.

Why Rapid Growth Matters

Growing a large body and rapidly developing brain requires enormous energy. That has implications for how Neanderthals lived, fed their young, and organized family life.

“They were not simply an earlier version of us,” explained Prof. Been. “They followed a fundamentally different life-history pathway from birth. What we see in Amud 7 is not delay or deficiency, but another adaptive strategy, likely shaped by the demanding environments in which they lived.”

In other words, Neanderthal childhood may have been built for survival under harsher ecological conditions.

Rebuilding a Child From the Distant Past

A major achievement of the project was the full 3D digital reconstruction of the infant’s skeleton.

Using micro-CT scans and advanced modeling, researchers created the most detailed virtual model ever produced of a Neanderthal infant of this age. Missing elements were reconstructed through anatomical mirroring, and each bone was positioned using osteological standards.

This allows scientists to study growth, movement, anatomy, and development in ways that were previously impossible.

A Bigger Picture of Neanderthal Life

The researchers also compared Amud 7 with other known Neanderthal infants and children, including Dederiyeh 1 and Roc de Marsal. The same pattern emerged repeatedly: faster growth of body and brain than in modern humans.

That consistency strengthens the case that this was a defining Neanderthal trait, not an isolated case.

For researchers at Bar-Ilan University, the tiny skeleton from a cave in the Galilee is doing something extraordinary today: helping rewrite the story of what it meant to be human.