An interesting study has just been published in the scientific journal Nature that has revealed data on the breastfeeding in our nearby cousins, the Neanderthals.
The study was conducted on teeth of a Neanderthal baby discovering that exclusive breastfeeding lasted until seven months, staying up to fourteen months with complementary feeding.
He breastfeeding pattern in Neanderthals It seems to be similar to those of homo sapiens sapiens, that is, to us, just as birth in both human groups was very similar.
It seems that this particular baby was abruptly weaned at that age, something that specialists believe should be due, rather than to the customs of the group, to a specific event: death of the mother or birth of a brother.
In fact, based on comparative studies with other primates, the calculation of the natural duration of human breastfeeding is considered to move between two and seven years, taking into account comparative ethology and anthropology, as explained by the greatest specialist in These themes of the world, Dr. Dettwyler, in an interview she gave Babies and more.
However, specialists consider that it is interesting to evaluate the role of breastfeeding in the number of children and the time between one and another birth, as prolonged breastfeeding is usually linked to greater spacing of births.
The work reveals that, if we extrapolate the data, Neanderthals followed very similar breastfeeding patterns those of humans in general and those recommended by national and international medical organizations, which indicate that exclusive breastfeeding should last at least six months and that the incorporation of complementary feeding should be done gradually.
Via | Nature In Babies and more | Will a Neanderthal baby be born in the SXXI ?, Hominization and our children, Katherine A. Dettwyler, a breastfeeding anthropologist, Human puppies
