Humans are considered to be altricial (strongly underdeveloped at birth) with respect to other primates, but this observation is driven by the strong postnatal enlargement of human brains. We inferred that the developmental stage of human brains at birth does not differ substantially from that of other fossil hominins.
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References
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Dunsworth, H. in The Routledge Handbook of Anthropology and Reproduction (eds. Han, S. & Tomori, C.) 441–453 (Routledge, 2021). A book chapter that reassesses and questions the idea of the obstetrical dilemma and the notion that humans are secondarily altricial.
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This is a summary of: Gómez-Robles, A. et al. The evolution of human altriciality and brain development in comparative context. Nat. Ecol. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02253-z (2023).
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Human altriciality is driven by postnatal brain growth. Nat Ecol Evol 8, 20–21 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02262-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02262-y
