Posted on 04/25/2008 6:58:54 PM PDT by blam
Neanderthals at Mealtime: Pass the Meat
Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News
Pass the Auroch, Please
April 23, 2008 -- Neanderthals living in southwestern France 55,000 to 40,000 years ago mostly ate red meat from extinct ancestors of modern bison, cattle and horses, according to a new study on a large, worn Neanderthal tooth.
The extinct hominids were not above eating every edible bit of an animal, since they were dining for survival, explained Teresa Steele, one of the study's co-authors.
While a steak dinner "is probably the closest modern comparison," Steele said, "remember too that they were consuming all parts of the animals, definitely the bone marrow and probably also the organs, not just the 'prime cuts.'"
The new findings, which have been accepted for publication in the Journal of Human Evolution, also suggest beans, grains and nuts were off the Neanderthal menu.
"We assume that Neanderthals were eating some plant foods, but given the present evidence, these plant foods were not significant sources of protein," explained Steele, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of California at Davis.
She and her colleagues extracted fine powder from an upper right Neanderthal premolar, excavated at a now-collapsed rock shelter called Jonzac in southwest France. For comparison, they also extracted and analyzed bone collagen from animal remains unearthed at the site. These animals included the Steppe bison, aurochs, ancient horses, reindeer and hyenas.
The scientists focused on forms of the common chemical elements carbon and nitrogen. These particular elements reflect an individual's diet at the time of tooth formation, usually during later childhood.
The research, conducted in the Department of Human Evolution at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, matched the Neanderthal tooth isotopes to those found in the large herbivore fossils found nearby, with the exception of reindeer, which appear to have been hyena prey.
"It is not surprising that hyenas would prefer reindeer -- they are the ideal size for hyena prey," explained Steele. "Given a choice, bison and aurochs would have been more difficult for a hyena to hunt compared to a reindeer, but apparently this was not true for Neanderthals."
The Neanderthal diet was limited in comparison to modern human diets, noted Steele, since early modern humans ate "more small, fast game, including birds and fish." This gave our ancestors "greater dietary flexibility and ultimately allowed their population sizes to increase more rapidly, allowing them to live at higher population densities."
Neanderthals, who lived in small groups throughout parts of Europe and the Near East, went extinct around 30,000 years ago, shortly after modern humans arrived on their territory. The new study therefore reveals what Neanderthals, at least those in southwestern France, were eating fairly close to the time of their ultimate demise.
"The study reconfirms previous studies that the Neanderthals were highly carnivorous and fed primarily on large mammals," said Richard Klein, a professor of anthropological sciences in the Department of Biology at Stanford University, adding, "I think it is totally convincing."
GGG Ping.
All of that from one tooth??? This guy might have been the only meat eater in the entire tribe with every body else eating banannas.
Did they use one of these?
“according to a new study on a large, worn Neanderthal tooth”
This ‘researcher’ has a vested interest in publishing this dental voodoo/doodoo...
They’ve also done studies of fossilized scat that came to the same conclusion.
“Did they use one of these?”
What is it?
While a steak dinner "is probably the closest modern comparison," Steele said, "remember too that they were consuming all parts of the animals, definitely the bone marrow and probably also the organs, not just the 'prime cuts.'"
Just checked Escoffier's book. As late as, say, this Friday night, some bipeds in France were enjoying bone marrow with truffle sauce.
Lucky barstids.
Don't knock it.
/johnny
...mmmmm...osso buco...
bet its a tool for getting marrow.
ba-dump tsh
(Just a fun poke at all you Frenchy-French lovers out there)
The Neandertal EnigmaFrayer's own reading of the record reveals a number of overlooked traits that clearly and specifically link the Neandertals to the Cro-Magnons. One such trait is the shape of the opening of the nerve canal in the lower jaw, a spot where dentists often give a pain-blocking injection. In many Neandertal, the upper portion of the opening is covered by a broad bony ridge, a curious feature also carried by a significant number of Cro-Magnons. But none of the alleged 'ancestors of us all' fossils from Africa have it, and it is extremely rare in modern people outside Europe. [pp 126-127]
by James Shreeve
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Thanks Blam. |
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I think I know that guy.
Well you know what they say-”vegetarian” is Neanderthal for “lousy hunter”.
It’s so easy, a caveman can do it.
Sorry, I had to say that.
What is that, a letter opener?
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