Do none of these scientists read the books of Jean Auel? (Clan of the Cave Bear, etc,) The Neandertals were not dumb brutes. They just got a bit technically and intellectually one-upped by the Cro-Magnons.
“...combined pyrolysis gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry with morphological analysis of plant microfossils to identify material trapped in dental calculus...”
Try saying that three times real fast.
She sells seashells down by rhe seashore...
Short sheet slitter...
My first thought as well. Auel either guessed right or found the research that was already out there and included it. Remember, all these "scientists" are feeding at the government teat, and need to keep raising more questions, useful or not, to keep the money flowing. If the problem was solved or all the questions answered, there would be no need for them any longer.