The Cradle of Thought: Growth, Learning, Play and Attachment in Neanderthal children

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Cradle of Thought

T2 - Growth, Learning, Play and Attachment in Neanderthal children

AU - Spikins, Penny

AU - Hitchens, Gail

AU - Rutherford, Holly

AU - Needham, Andrew

N1 - © John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 2014. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Oxford Journal of Archaeology. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy.

PY - 2014/5

Y1 - 2014/5

N2 - Childhood is a core stage in development, essential in the acquisition of social, practical and cultural skills. However, this area receives limited attention in archaeological debate, especially in early prehistory. We here consider Neanderthal childhood, exploring the experience of Neanderthal children using biological, cultural and social evidence. We conclude that Neanderthal childhood experience was subtly different from that of their modern human counterparts, orientated around a greater focus on social relationships within their group. Neanderthal children, as reflected in the burial record, may have played a particularly significant role in their society, especially in the domain of symbolic expression. A consideration of childhood informs broader debates surrounding the subtle differences between Neanderthals and modern humans.

AB - Childhood is a core stage in development, essential in the acquisition of social, practical and cultural skills. However, this area receives limited attention in archaeological debate, especially in early prehistory. We here consider Neanderthal childhood, exploring the experience of Neanderthal children using biological, cultural and social evidence. We conclude that Neanderthal childhood experience was subtly different from that of their modern human counterparts, orientated around a greater focus on social relationships within their group. Neanderthal children, as reflected in the burial record, may have played a particularly significant role in their society, especially in the domain of symbolic expression. A consideration of childhood informs broader debates surrounding the subtle differences between Neanderthals and modern humans.

KW - Neanderthal

KW - PALAEOLITHIC

KW - CHILDHOOD

KW - EMOTION

KW - human evolution

U2 - 10.1111/ojoa.12030

DO - 10.1111/ojoa.12030

M3 - Article

SN - 0262-5253

VL - 33

SP - 111

EP - 134

JO - Oxford Journal of Archaeology

JF - Oxford Journal of Archaeology

IS - 2

ER -