Reconstructing the pelvis of Neanderthal women

Scientists from the University of California, Davis (USA) and Max Planck Evolutionary Anthropology Institute in Leipzig (Germany) announced the reconstruction of the virtual pelvis of a Neanderthal woman from Tabun (Israel).

Although the size of the reproductive reproductive tract shows that Neanderthal births are as difficult as humans today , its shape suggests that Neanderthals have a more primitive reproductive mechanism than modern humans. . The virtual reconstruction of the pelvis from Tabun will first appear online for anyone interested in human evolution to download (PNAS, April 20, 2009).

Birth in humans is more complicated than other primates. Unlike monkeys, human pregnancies are about the size of a reproductive tube, making birth very difficult. The reproductive mechanism, a series of cycles that the child must go through to be able to pass through the mother's reproductive tube, distinguishes humans from other primates.

Recreate virtual pelvis of Neanderthal women from Tabun (Israel).Colors show individual pieces of bone that match.Gray wedges represent the shape of the same bone.(Photo: Tim Weaver, University of California)

It is difficult to detect the evolution of human birth because of the pelvis, the edge of the birth canal, usually does not exist in the fossil record, Only 3 fossils of women still hold the birth canal. The product is quite complete, and all 3 belong to earlier stages of human evolution.

Tim Weaver of the University of California (Davis, USA) and Jean-Jacques Hublin, director of the Max Planck Evolutionary Anthropology Institute in Leipzig (Germany), introduced the virtual reconstruction of the pelvis of a Neanderthal woman from Tabun (Israel). The size of the reproductive tube shows that Neanderthal births are as difficult as modern humans. However, its shape indicates that Neaderthals have a more primitive reproductive mechanism than modern humans, without rotating the child's body.

A significant change in fertility occurs quite late in the evolutionary history of mankind, in the past 400,000 - 300,000 years. Such a late change formed the difference in human birth and the divergent evolution of Neanderthals and lineages leading to modern people today.

The virtual reconstruction of the pelvis from Tabun for the first time allows people interested in the evolution of humanity to download from the Internet. The download file is on the University of California website and Max Planck Evolutionary Anthropology Institute.

References:
Timothy D. Weaver, Jean-Jacques Hublin. Neandertal birth canal shape and the evolution of human childbirth. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2009; 106 (20): 8151 DOI: 10.1073 / pnas.0812554106