New Evidence of Neanderthal Hunting and Butchery of Elephants in Europe
Neanderthals regularly hunted and killed elephants in Europe.
The discovery of the stone tool marks on a collection of bones shows either that prehistoric humans lived in bigger groups or had techniques for processing flesh.
The possibility of Neanderthals hunting the straight-tusked elephants has long been discussed.
The elephant bones, other animal remains, and stone tools were unearthed in a quarry in Halle, Germany and dated to around 125,000 years ago.
Over 70 elephant remains were discovered, some with complete bones, indicating complete butchering for every last bit of flesh and fat.
The lack of gnaw marks from carnivores indicates that there wasn’t much food on the carcass and it wasn’t attractive to them.
One elephant’s body would have provided food for 100 adults for a month.
One elephant’s body would have provided food for 100 adults for a month.
There is a preconception that Neanderthals lived in very small groups, but no evidence to support this.
A smaller group of 25 people would have needed to work for 3 to 5 days to prepare the elephant meat so it wouldn't go bad.
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