Fossil teeth hint at a surprisingly early start to humans’ long childhoods

An extended childhood, a hallmark of human development, may have gotten off to an ancient and unusual start.

One of the earliest known members of the Homo genus experienced delayed, humanlike tooth development during childhood before undergoing a more chimplike dental growth spurt, a new study concludes.

The fossil teeth of a roughly 11-year-old individual reveal slowed development of premolar and molar teeth up to about age 5, followed by speeded development of those same teeth. That slower start represented an initial evolutionary foray into extending growth during childhood, say University of Zurich paleoanthropologist Christoph Zollikofer and colleagues.

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