Comparison of the developmental stages experienced by both primates and humans has provided invaluable information regarding the evolution of both species. This information has allowed anthropologists and biologists to understand how humans successfully combined the features brought on by neoteny such as extended childhood, delayed reproduction capability, short duration breastfeeding, and adolescent growth spurt to contribute toward their survival.
One of the most obvious similarities between primates and humans is their development of a period of juvenile growth and behavior between infancy and adulthood. Although this period is greatly extended in humans, primates, like most other highly social mammals, such as wolves, dogs, and elephants postpone puberty and insert this juvenile period. Such period provides offspring with additional time to learn life skills from their parents and thereby be better prepared for life as an adult. During this period in both primates and humans, the juveniles are capable of limited self sufficiency but remain dependent on their parents for protection and, on occasion, feeding. In the juvenile period both primates and humans enjoy an acceleration in soft tissue growth. This growth contributes to both species becoming stronger during this period and increasing their agility. One of the divergences that distinguish the two species also occurs at this point as humans also enjoy rapid bone growth while the primate bone growth is much less significant. Primates and humans also demonstrate a pattern of brain growth...
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