The Spirit in Human Evolution - Waldorf Research Institute

Fig 5.9 Changing shape of Neanderthal skulls in the course of ontogeny. Top row: 18 months old with
fontanel still open, from Staroselje, Crimea; 6 to 8 year old Child of La Quina, still undergoing change of
teeth, from Charente, France. Middle row: 9 year old child from Teschik-Tasch, Uzbekistan; 14 to 15 year
old from Le Moustier, Dordogne, France. Bottom row: adult from La Quina, France, and the Old Man
of Chapelle-aux-Saints, France. This skull is from a man about 40 years old.
Early Hominid Infants More Human in Form Than Adults
As far as is known from the fossil record, the trend in ontological development
has always been from a more generalized human-like form in childhood to a more
specialized and more robust form in adulthood, a trend that is particularly noticeable
in present day chimps, orangutans, and gorillas where the infant skeletons are far
more human-like in their general uprightness and shape than the adult ones. There are
unfortunately too few specimens of each hominid species to tell whether this was always
as apparent, with one exception. There have been enough Neanderthal finds of all ages
to see the trend clearly.
In the group of fossils shown in Figure 5.9, the infants are clearly very Homo
sapiens-like with their rounded craniums, high forehead and un-thickened brows. The
progression towards the typical Neanderthal form is very marked. The adult Neanderthal
is strongly prognathous (with prominent lower jaw), with massive eyebrow bones.
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