Pourquoi les humains mettent-ils si longtemps à grandir ?

A foal can stand on its own two feet a few hours after birth. A human baby, on the other hand, depends on others for years. In prehistory, such a weakness should have been fatal. Yet, it could be one of the reasons for our intelligence. Why is our childhood so long? From the extremely expensive brains of children to the mutual support between parents, grandparents, and relatives, this video explores a fascinating hypothesis of human evolution: our babies may not have become dependent because we were intelligent—we may have become so intelligent because they were dependent. The investigation leads us to the jawbones of Homo infants approximately two million years old, studied by a team involving the CNRS and the University of Toulouse, and then to the 257 Neanderthal footprints at Rozel, in Normandy, left mostly by children and adolescents. The scientific hypotheses discussed in this video—obstetrical dilemma, the energy limits of pregnancy, and cooperative herding—are presented with their uncertainties. Fossils tell us a lot, but they don't tell the whole story. And you, besides your parents, who helped you grow up? #prehistory #humanevolution #HomoSapiens #Neanderthal #science