Neandertal cannibalism and Neandertal bones used as tools in Northern Europe.

Hélène Rougier,Patrick Semal,Johannes Van Der Plicht,Asier Gómez-Olivencia,Isabelle Crevecoeur,Cosimo Posth,Christoph Wißing,Johannes Krause,Anja Furtwängler,Damien Flas,Mietje Germonpré,Hervé Bocherens,Cédric Beauval

doi:10.1038/srep29005

Abstract

Almost 150 years after the first identification of Neandertal skeletal material, the cognitive and symbolic abilities of these populations remain a subject of intense debate. We present 99 new Neandertal remains from the Troisième caverne of Goyet (Belgium) dated to 40,500–45,500 calBP. The remains were identified through a multidisciplinary study that combines morphometrics, taphonomy, stable isotopes, radiocarbon dating and genetic analyses. The Goyet Neandertal bones show distinctive anthropogenic modifications, which provides clear evidence for butchery activities as well as four bones having been used for retouching stone tools. In addition to being the first site to have yielded multiple Neandertal bones used as retouchers, Goyet not only provides the first unambiguous evidence of Neandertal cannibalism in Northern Europe, but also highlights considerable diversity in mortuary behaviour among the region’s late Neandertal population in the period immediately preceding their disappearance.

Highlights

Almost 150 years after the first identification of Neandertal skeletal material, the cognitive and symbolic abilities of these populations remain a subject of intense debate
We present 99 new Neandertal remains recently identified among the collections from the Troisième caverne of Goyet (Belgium), some of which exhibit anthropogenic modifications, and discuss their implications
In 2004, we identified both a Neandertal mandible fragment and an isolated tooth among the human material recovered by Dupont from the Troisième caverne and currently housed at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS)[27], making Goyet one of the few Northern European sites north of 50° N to have yielded Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 Neandertal remains (Supplementary Note S1 and Supplementary Fig. S1)

Summary

Introduction

Almost 150 years after the first identification of Neandertal skeletal material, the cognitive and symbolic abilities of these populations remain a subject of intense debate. Evidence for cannibalism was first proposed for this site as early as 19017 based on the fragmentation and traces of burning from a large collection of early Neandertal remains. This evidence has since been disputed by proponents of alternative explanations for the human bone modifications who argue for natural processes while others maintain that the anthropogenic manipulations are best interpreted in the context of secondary burials[8]. We present 99 new Neandertal remains recently identified among the collections from the Troisième caverne of Goyet (Belgium), some of which exhibit anthropogenic modifications, and discuss their implications. The excavation methods did not meet today’s standards, and it appears that the levels described by Dupont represent a mix of material from different periods (e.g., ref. 24)

Methods

Results

Conclusion