![]() In the absence of direct evidence, archaeologists typically rely on indirect clues to understand how a hominin species were getting their hands on animal products. We know they ate meat, although recent studies of their teeth and faeces suggest that they consumed plants for food and possibly medicinal use as well. ![]() A further wooden spear from Lehringen, Germany, dates to roughly the same period as Neumark-Nord, and was found with a butchered elephant.Īlthough scientists have not been able to demonstrate that these spears were used for hunting rather than power scavenging (stealing carcasses from carnivores) or self-defence, there were strong signs that Neanderthals did hunt for food. These include a broken point of a spear from Clacton-on-Sea in the UK, dating to around 400,000 years ago, and multiple complete examples from the site of Schöningen in Germany, dating to around 300,000 years ago. Previous research shows that the earliest Neanderthal spears are plain wooden sticks without stone points. It would therefore make sense that Neanderthals also hunted using weapons – even some chimpanzees do this today. For example, they cared for the vulnerable, buried their dead and engaged in symbolic behaviours. Scientists have traditionally thought that there were stark cultural and behavioural differences between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, but recent discoveries have clarified that Neanderthals were more sophisticated than originally thought. ![]() Neanderthals evolved in part of Europe and Asia around 400,000 years ago, while our own species evolved in Africa. In a paper accompanying the new study, I discuss what the findings mean for our knowledge of the lives of the Neanderthals. These unusual artefacts prove that the earliest spears were effective hunting weapons. The paper describes a collection of 120,000-year-old deer bones from the Neanderthal site of Neumark-Nord in Germany – two of which have perforations that clearly show impacts from a spear. Now new research, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, shows that Neanderthals did indeed use spears to hunt animals. Rather than using the spears for hunting, Neanderthals could have used them for self-defence or scavenging. But our knowledge of how they used spears and how that compares with our own species has been inconclusive. Most archaeologists believe that Neanderthals were adept hunters, and we have found spears at Neanderthal sites. When Neanderthals are depicted in artistic reconstructions, they often have a spear in hand.
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