Fossil Evidence Shows Homo Erectus Also Struggled With Helpless Newborns

A team led by Prof. Yousuke Kaifu of the University of Tokyo found traces of deformational plagiocephaly — flat-head syndrome — in Homo erectus fossil records. The condition develops when a soft-skulled infant lies in one position too long without a caregiver's help, indicating intensive parental care was already present in Homo erectus. Human infants are uniquely helpless among primates due to an evolutionary trade-off between bipedalism and large brain size. The findings were published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

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