How to study the eating habits of a disappeared species such as the Neanderthal? Although it seems a difficult question to solve, the elements present in the fossils can give clues to solve the enigma. In a new study published inNature, a team of scientists has studied the barium levels in the teeth of a young Neanderthal, and the results reveal that he was exclusively breastfed for seven months.
The researchers analyzed the barium present in the teeth of babies and young macaques, whose diet is known, and were able to determine the relationship between the two: “We measure weaning by the barium of the teeth, which depends on the amount absorbed because of the diet ”, explained to SINC Christine Austin, one of the authors of the work. In both macaques and animals,the amount of barium decreases when starting solid feeding.
In the case analyzed, the small Neanderthal was exclusively breastfed for seven months. During the next seven months the milk was combined with supplementary solid feeding, and at 1.2 years the barium levels indicate a cessation of breastfeeding.
Although breast milk has many health benefits, cessation of lactation allows the mother to have children at shorter intervals, facilitating population growth and species survival. “Knowing the time of weaning or the duration of breastfeeding is very relevant to know the biology of Neanderthals and ourselves,” says Antonio Rosas, from the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN, CSIC).
However, it will be necessary to expand these studies and study a greater number of individuals since, as in our species, breastfeeding habits can be highly variable. “Today we know thatin terms of growth, Neanderthals showed some variationfrom some individuals to others, so I don’t think it can be generalized ”, Rosas concludes.
