The secrets of fossil teeth revealed by the synchrotron: A long childhood is the prelude to the evolution of a large brain Could social bonds be the key to human big brains? A study of the fossil teeth of early Homo from Georgia dating back 1.77 million years reveals a prolonged childhood despite a small brain and an adulthood comparable to that of the great apes. This discovery suggests that an extended childhood, combined with cultural transmission in three-generation social groups, may have triggered the evolution of a large brain like that of modern humans, rather than the reverse.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/r....eleases/2024/11/2411