Look: Ancient teeth hints at a similarity between Neanderthal and human brains

That’s because very few fossils of Neanderthal children and babies have been discovered — save for a few specimens here and there.

We know that Neanderthals had baby teeth, just like humans.

These teeth can reveal how quickly Neanderthal children began eating solid food — a developmental milestone that correlates with a period of accelerated brain growth.

In a new study published Wednesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers describe baby teeth samples from three Neanderthals.

They sought to find out how quickly these teeth grew in.

The teeth were discovered in Krapina, Croatia. They’re the remains of Neanderthals that lived about 130,000 years ago.

Past analysis suggests Neanderthal infants may have been able to start processing food besides their mother’s milk at as early as 4 months old.

Study co-author B. Holly Smith tells Inverse that faster growth can indicate higher rates of mortality in a species.

If teeth appeared earlier in Neanderthals, it may mean their brains and bodies may have developed — and aged — more quickly than humans, too.