Abstract
Neandertals were top predators who basically relied on middle- to large-sized ungulates for dietary purposes, but there is growing evidence that supports their consumption of plants, leporids, tortoises, marine resources, carnivores and birds. The Iberian Peninsula has provided the most abundant record of bird exploitation for meat in Europe, starting in the Middle Pleistocene. However, the bird and carnivore exploitation record was hitherto limited to the Mediterranean area of the Iberian Peninsula. Here we present the first evidence of bird and carnivore exploitation by Neandertals in the Cantabrian region. We have found cut-marks in two golden eagles, one raven, one wolf and one lynx remain from the Mousterian levels of Axlor. The obtaining of meat was likely the primary purpose of the cut-marks on the golden eagle and lynx remains. Corvids, raptors, felids and canids in Axlor could have likely acted as commensals of the Neandertals, scavenging upon the carcasses left behind by these hunter-gatherers. This could have brought them closer to Neandertal groups who could have preyed upon them. These new results provide additional information on their dietary scope and indicate a more complex interaction between Neandertals and their environment.
Highlights
Neandertal behavioral complexity and whether their cognitive capacities parallel those present in modern humans is currently a topic of debate among archaeologists and paleontologists, and it relies on direct and indirect evidence
Bird exploitation by Neandertals is an area of growing interest among researchers because it is being linked to behavioral complexity in these hunter-gatherers on a two-fold perspective: first, because bird consumption is linked to a broader diet and the capability to hunt small, fast-moving game; and second, because there is evidence of bird exploitation related to symbolic behavior
Axlor provides the first evidence of bird and carnivore exploitation in the Cantabrian region
Summary
Neandertal behavioral complexity and whether their cognitive capacities parallel those present in modern humans is currently a topic of debate among archaeologists and paleontologists, and it relies on direct and indirect evidence. There is anatomical evidence consistent with spoken language, which is the basis for complex cultural transmission and abstract thinking[2,3,4,5] This complexity can be observed in the way Neandertals managed landscapes and settlements, including habitat structures[6,7,8,9,10]. Neandertals exploited animals, for dietary purposes and for pelts, tools (e.g., retouchers), and there is increasing evidence of non-utilitarian use of animal resources in the European Middle Paleolithic record, such as mollusk and bird (talon and feather) exploitation as ornaments[16,18,19,20]. Any new information on human-carnivore interaction during the Middle Paleolithic provides new clues to understanding Neandertal paleoecology
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