PARIS, Dec 5: Early humans did not suffer teenage growing pains, according to a new study which suggests our distant ancestors grew up quickly, rather like apes.

Modern humans are unique among primates, having large brains, a distinct form of movement, a long lifespan, delayed reproduction and lengthy childhood.

A team of anthropologists led by Christopher Dean of University College London looked at fossilised teeth of hominins, the ancestral family of humans, and of apes, to see how fast they grew.

A cross-section of teeth gives an idea of the rate of growth because, like tree rings, inner enamel is successively deposited in layers during the growth years.

They found that Homo erectus, an upright hominid who lived around one-and-a-half million years ago and was previously assumed to develop like modern humans, grew up quickly, rather like an ape.

On the other hand, Neanderthals — large-brained hominids thought to have died out around 30,000 years ago, crushed by the rise of Homo sapiens — showed a slow rate of enamel growth that is typical of people today.

In a commentary, Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi of the University of Florence, Italy, said the findings threw intriguing light on the history of human development: as humans developed bigger brains, they took longer to reach maturity.

“A modern, human-like period of development arose relatively late in our evolutionary history,” he suggested.—AFP