A look at how a species deals with handicaps in individuals, even early in its evolution

Deformed Skull Suggests Human Ancestors Had Compassion

Scientists argue that the child's fossilised remains indicate a diagnosis of craniosynostosis, a premature fusing of the bones of the skull which causes pressure to build up in the brain and mental retardation. Since this child was at least five when it died, possibly several years older, it indicates that the child was cared for despite disability for quite some time, at a timeframe of over 530,000 years ago during the Middle Pleistocene. Others argue that other primates do also take care of young progeny with disabilities, so of course these early species of Homo could be expected to. It's an interesting case, though. Here's a link to the scholarly article's abstract.