Hs te Hn?
- From: Marc Verhaegen <m_verhaegen@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 18 May 2009 00:20:54 +0200
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/272709
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/may/17/neanderthals-cannibalism-anthr
opological-sciences-journal
How Neanderthals met a grisly fate: devoured by humans
A fossil discovery bears marks of butchering similar to those made when
cutting up a deer
Robin McKie 17 May 2009
One of science's most puzzling mysteries - the disappearance of the
Neanderthals - may have been solved. Modern humans ate them, says a leading
fossil expert.
The controversial suggestion follows publication of a study in the Journal
of Anthropological Sciences about a Neanderthal jawbone apparently butchered
by modern humans. Now the leader of the research team says he believes the
flesh had been eaten by humans, while its teeth may have been used to make a
necklace.
Fernando Rozzi, of Paris's Centre National de la Récherche Scientifique,
said the jawbone had probably been cut into to remove flesh, including the
tongue. Crucially, the butchery was similar to that used by humans to cut up
deer carcass in the early Stone Age. "Neanderthals met a violent end at our
hands and in some cases we ate them," Rozzi said.
The idea will provoke considerable opposition from scientists who believe
Neanderthals disappeared for reasons that did not involve violence.
Neanderthals were a sturdy species who evolved in Europe 300,000 years ago,
made complex stone tools and survived several ice ages before they
disappeared 30,000 years ago - just as modern human beings arrived in Europe
from Africa.
Some researchers believe Neanderthals may have failed to compete effectively
with Homo sapiens for resources, or were more susceptible to the impact of
climate change. But others believe our interactions were violent and
terminal for the Neanderthals. According to Rozzi, the discovery at Les Rois
in south-west France <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/france> provides
compelling support for that argument.
Previous excavations revealed bones that were thought to be exclusively
human. But Rozzi's team re-examined them and found one they concluded was
Neanderthal. Importantly, it was covered in cut marks similar to those left
behind when flesh is stripped from deer and other animals using stone tools.
Rozzi believes the jawbone provides crucial evidence that humans attacked
Neanderthals, and sometimes killed them, bringing back their bodies to caves
to eat or to use their skulls or teeth as trophies. "For years, people have
tried to hide away from the evidence of cannibalism, but I think we have to
accept it took place," he added.
But not every team member agrees. "One set of cut marks does not make a
complete case for cannibalism," said Francesco d'Errico, of the Institute of
Prehistory in Bordeaux. It was also possible that the jawbone had been found
by humans and its teeth used to make a necklace, he said.
"This is a very important investigation," said Professor Chris Stringer, of
the Natural History Museum, London. "We do need more evidence, but this
could indicate modern humans and Neanderthals were living in the same area
of Europe at the same time, that they were interacting, and that some of
these interactions may have been hostile.
"This does not prove we systematically eradicated the Neanderthals or that
we regularly ate their flesh. But it does add to the evidence that
competition from modern humans probably contributed to Neanderthal
extinction."
.
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