Archaeologists have uncovered ‘surprising’ new evidence that suggested Neanderthals were smarter than previously believed.
Excavations near the Pyrenees mountains in Spain produced over 29,000 artifacts, including stone tools and animal bones, which proposed the ancient hominin primates were skilled and intelligent hunters.
The animal bones uncovered at the site showed our ancestors planned their meals based on the surrounding environment and developed tools specific to killing large animals like bison or smaller ones like rabbits.
‘The findings revealed Neanderthals were able to adapt to their environment, challenging the archaic humans’ reputation as slow-footed cavemen and shedding light on their survival and hunting skills,’ researchers said.
Excavations near the Pyrenees mountains in Spain produced over 29,000 artifacts, including stone tools and animal bones, which proposed the ancient hominin primates were skilled and intelligent hunters
Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) have been combing the foothills of Abric Pizarro, a site dating from 100,000 to 65,000 years ago during a period called MIS 4, for clues about the extinct species.
The region is home to a large number of caves and rock shelter sites that were home to Neanderthals.
‘Our surprising findings at Abric Pizarro show how adaptable Neanderthals were,’ lead author Dr Sofia Samper Carro said.
‘The animal bones we have recovered indicate that they were successfully exploiting the surrounding fauna, hunting red deer, horses and bison, but also eating freshwater turtles and rabbits, which imply a degree of planning rarely considered for Neanderthals.’
According to the researchers, these new insights challenge widespread beliefs that Neanderthals only hunted large animals, such as horses and rhinoceros.
‘Through the bones that we are finding, which display cut marks, we have direct proof that Neanderthals were capable of hunting small animals,’ Dr Samper Carro said.
‘The bones on this site are very well preserved, and we can see marks of how Neanderthals processed and butchered these animals.
‘Our analysis of the stone artefacts also demonstrates variability in the type of tools produced, indicating Neanderthals’ capability to exploit the available resources in the area.’
‘The findings revealed Neanderthals were able to adapt to their environment, challenging the archaic humans’ reputation as slow-footed cavemen and shedding light on their survival and hunting skills,’ researchers said
The team created a 3D map to plot where each artefact was found at the dig, allowing them to more accurately interpret each Neanderthal tool and meal’s possible relationship to one another.
‘We 3D plot every single remain found larger than one to two centimeters. This makes our work slow, and we have been excavating some of these sites for over 20 years, but it turns into a uniquely precise recording of the sites,’ Dr Samper Carro said.
‘We are interested in how the different data relates to each other, from stone tools to bones and hearths.
‘This more thorough excavation gives archaeologists information on how Neanderthals lived and how long they were in an area.
‘It’s not only the individual materials that give us clues, but also where exactly they are found in relation to other materials on the site that helps us understand how and when Neanderthals were visiting these sites. Were they settled there or just passing through?’
Shedding light on this crucial transitional period helps archaeologists edge closer to solving a mystery that has plagued researchers for decades: what drove the Neanderthals to extinction?
According to the researchers, finding sites like Abric Pizarro, from this specific and not well-recorded period, gives information about how Neanderthals lived when modern humans were not in the area yet and shows that they were thriving.
To aid the new study, over 29,000 artifacts larger than 2-centimeters each, including stone tools and animal remains like teeth and bone, were plotted in 3D across the dig site. This 3D map helped interpret each Neanderthal tool and meal’s possible relationship to one another
‘The unique site at Abric Pizarro gives a glimpse of Neanderthal behavior in a landscape they had been roaming for hundreds of thousands of years,’ Dr Samper Carro said.
‘Neanderthals disappeared around 40,000 years ago. Suddenly, we modern humans appear in this region of the Pyrenees, and the Neanderthals disappear. But before that, Neanderthals had been living in Europe for almost 300,000 years.
‘They clearly knew what they were doing. They knew the area and how to survive for a long time.
‘This is one of the most interesting things about this site, to have this unique information about when Neanderthals were alone and living in harsh conditions and how they thrived before modern humans appeared.’
