100,000-Year-Old Fossilized Footprints Shows Similarity Between Neanderthal and Modern Children

A new study revealed that the fossilized footprints discovered in southern Spain are believed to have come from Neanderthal children.

A BGR report said that what these Neanderthal children were doing during that time the footprints were placed was that they were playing on the shore.

As specified in said report, Neanderthals do not exist anymore. And while there is a lot of discussions on how they died and what specific role today's species of human ancestors might have played in their death, it's worthy to realize that they were indeed like today's humans.

The study entitled, "Tracking late Pleistocene Neanderthals on the Iberian coast," and published in Scientific Reports, needs to make a lot of assumptions which is the best nature when one is trying to read into behaviors through the use of leftover footprints from 100,000 years ago.

Still, the study authors appear to have quite a good handle on what they believe the young Neanderthals were up to.

More so, it sounds a whole lot like what today's children are doing at any given opportunity. These include goofing around, hanging out, and acting like the children they are.

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Fossilized Footprints

According to a LiveScience report, the fossilized footprints were discovered at a National Park in mid-2020. The prints were found to be secreted among fossilized animal trails carved into the ground by wild boar and deer.

This led to researchers missing the hominid footprints completely. The research team behind this new research eventually examined the sight and found that there were Neanderthal footprints concealed among the wild animal prints, two months from the initial observation of the tracks.

This report specified picking footprints out of this 100,000-year-old planet can be a challenge although by measuring different parts of each print, the scientists were able to determine the individuals' ages.

Neanderthals, as described by the National History Museum, were so much akin to ancient humans of today's species, although there were a number of key differences in terms of sizes which included large heads and brains and shorter legs.

Essentially, feet are a single area where the two species were matching up well, and thus, it is rather easier to guess the ages of the individuals who left the print.

How Neanderthal Children Appeared to Behave

Probably, what's most interesting about this new finding is the fact that as the area has prints that came from Neanderthals of different ages, it is clear that it was a place where a lot of the children hung out.

Akin to the children of this modern time who tend to form peer groups, it appears like these Neanderthal children had a little circle of their own.

What these children from the past were doing besides simply hanging out has remained a mystery. However, if they were in their teens, the study authors believe, they might be able to discover fossilized cigarette butts and bottles of soda nearby.

A related report about Neanderthal footprints is shown on National History Museum's YouTube video below: