A international team of paleoanthropologists has just published research supposedly proving that Neanderthals were hunting and eating cave lions nearly 50,000 years ago in Europe. Until now experts had no idea that Neanderthals hunters had been stalking cave lions. In fact, this stunning discovery represents the oldest evidence of large predator hunting by human relatives or ancestors found anywhere in the world.
Discovering the Mark of the Neanderthal Hunter
As detailed in the article published in the journal Scientific Reports , the paleontologists analyzed the well-preserved remains of a cave lion skeleton found in Siegsdorf, Germany, which was excavated 38 years ago and dated to approximately 46,000 BC. While the cave lion has been extinct for more than 10,000 years, its skeletal remains have been discovered in many different locations in Eurasia.
At the time the skeleton was found, archaeologists noted right away that the animal had been butchered after its death. There were cut marks on many of its bones, showing that the meat and skin had been removed from the the cave lion after it had died.
But during the recent reanalysis, the international team of researchers, who were led by Dr. Gabriele Russo from the University of Tübingen, noticed something that had been overlooked before. This was the presence of a distinctive puncture wound on the inside of one of the lion’s ribs.
This puncture had previously been identified as a bite mark from a scavenger, but this time the…
