The oldest case of Down syndrome is the skeleton of a child who lived 1500 years ago.

The oldest known evidence of Down Syndrome is the remains of a child who lived 1500 years ago in Medieval France.

French scientists found the skeleton of a 5-7-year-old child, buried with dozens of other people in an ancient cemetery near the abbey of Saint-Jean-de-Ville in eastern France. The burial was discovered back in the 1989 year, but only recently the necessary studies were carried out, during which it became known that the child suffered from a genetic disease.

Down syndrome is associated with the presence of an extra chromosome in a person. This leads to limited intellectual abilities and gives specific facial features. The child's skull was found to have a wide and at the same time short form, flat at the base, which is very typical for patients with this disease.

Also, archaeologists have found out how in those days the society treated such people. The body of the child was laid face up, head to the west, and the hands were placed under the pelvic bones - like all other 93 people buried in the same cemetery. This suggests that the society did not perceive such children as rogue or outsiders.

However, despite the fact that the skeleton may be the oldest material evidence of the existence of Down syndrome, archaeological artifacts found in Mesoamerica, say that the disease was known to people even 1000 years earlier. Moreover, there is an assumption that the Olmec figurines made back in 1500 BC are the earliest evidence of this disease, writes AmericaRu.com