The traditional perception of the toughness of Neanderthal childhood is based largely on biological evidence, but archaeologists led by Dr Penny Spikins from the University of York also studied cultural and social evidence to explore the experience of Neanderthal children.

They found that Neanderthal childhood experience was subtly different from that of their modern human counterparts in that it had a greater focus on social relationships within their group.

Dr Spikins and her colleagues said: “Neanderthal children played a particularly significant role in their society, particularly in symbolic expression.”