Evidence for close-range hunting by last interglacial Neanderthals.
Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser1,2, Elisabeth S Noack3,4, Eduard Pop3,5
1MONREPOS Archaeological Research Center and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Leibniz-Research Institute for Archaeology, Neuwied, Germany. gaudzinski@rgzm.de.
Nature Ecology & Evolution
|June 27, 2018
Summary
Neanderthals used thrusting spears for close-range hunting 120,000 years ago. This confrontational hunting strategy required cooperation and may have influenced human evolution.
Area of Science:
- Paleoanthropology
- Archaeology
- Paleontology
Background:
- Hominin diets included animal resources starting 2.5 million years ago.
- Stone tools aided carcass access, but hunting strategies remain unclear.
- Wooden staves, 300,000-400,000 years old, are the oldest potential hunting weapons.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the use of ancient hunting weapons.
- To analyze perforations on deer skeletons from Neumark-Nord, Germany.
- To understand Neanderthal hunting behaviors 120,000 years ago.
Main Methods:
- Excavation of 120,000-year-old lake shore deposits.
- Analysis of perforations on fallow deer skeletons.
- Micro-computed tomography (CT) imaging and ballistic experiments.
Main Results:
- Perforations consistent with close-range thrusting spear use were identified.
- Evidence suggests Neanderthals engaged in confrontational hunting.
- The findings provide direct data on the use of ancient spear-like objects.
Conclusions:
- Neanderthals utilized thrusting spears for hunting at close range.
- This hunting method implies significant cooperation among Neanderthals.
- Confrontational hunting may have shaped hominin biology and behavior over time.
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