La Ferrassie 6 and the development of Neandertal pubic morphology

Functional interpretations of the mediolateral elongation and superoinferior flattening of the superior pubic ramus of Neandertals require knowledge of its ontogeny. Metric comparisons between the La Ferrassie 6 Neandertal infant, aged 3-5 years, and a sample of modern infants reveal that the acetabulosymphyseal length of La Ferrassie 6, relative to femoral length and iliac breadth, falls at the limits of the range of variation of the modern infants, while the relative height of its superior pubic ramus is indistinguishable from that of the modern sample. It appears that acetabulosymphyseal elongation of the Neandertal pubis is a feature which is expressed quite early in ontogeny, well before puberty. Superoinferior flattening and ventral margin thinning of the superior ramus probably appear later in Neandertal ontogeny.