They hunted mammoths and co in the ice age steppes – this idea shapes the image of our archaic cousins. However, many Neanderthals may not have been big game hunters, but lived in coastal areas from marine food sources, findings suggest. According to this, the inhabitants of a cave in Portugal fed on seafood, fish and even marine mammals over 80,000 years ago. The results contradict the assumption that only modern humans made intensive use of marine resources and were therefore at an advantage, say the scientists.
For a long time they were considered crude primitive primates – so it seemed clear why the Neanderthals were so easily ousted by modern humans. However, this view of our archaic cousins has changed significantly in recent decades. Archaeological finds suggest that Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens were quite similarly developed. There was even a mixture of the two human species, as documented by a few percent of the Neanderthal genome in us. However, one thing is clear: Modern man ultimately gained the upper hand – he displaced his relatives from Europe about 43,000 years ago in a comparatively short time.
Inflexible diet?
One reason for the inferiority of the Neanderthals could have been a slightly lower success in food procurement. So far it has been assumed that the Neanderthals were highly specialized in big game hunting. Because there is little evidence that they used other sources of food, such as the resources of the water and coast. On the other hand, finds from Africa show that modern people in certain regions consumed appropriate food at an early age. Since fish and seafood are a very rich source of nutrients, this diet may even have played an important role in the brain development of our ancestors, so it is believed. However, the study by the researchers led by João Zilhão from the University of Barcelona contradicts the previous assumption that Neanderthals did not use these food resources.
The results are based on findings that come from the Figueira Brava cave, which is located about 30 kilometers south of Lisbon in the cliffs on the Atlantic. In the ice age, however, it was around two kilometers from the sea due to the significantly lower sea level. As the researchers report, they encountered numerous traces of human settlement in the cave deposits. Dating using the uranium-thorium method showed that the layers were between 86,000 and 106,000 years old. So it seemed clear: the traces come from before the arrival of modern humans – they can therefore be assigned to Neanderthals.
Seafood, fish and seals on the menu
As the researchers report, the deposits reflected the rich menu of the residents. Their analysis showed that about 50 percent of the food was brought into the cave from the coast. The scientists identified the remains of many different marine species: mussels and snails, crustaceans, various fish, seabirds and mammals such as dolphins and seals. In addition to this coastal food, there was also food from the hinterland: the researchers found the remains of deer, goats, horses, aurochs and smaller prey such as turtles. Plant-based food also rounded off the menu, as further findings showed. This shows how flexibly the Neanderthals knew how to use the resources of their coastal home.
According to the scientists, this way of life could have been more widespread among the Neanderthals than it seems. The lack of evidence to date is probably due to the rise in sea level in the Pleistocene, which has flooded many coastal areas across Europe where Neanderthals once lived. This could have given the distorted impression that Neanderthals were residents of the cold steppes, who mainly hunted mammoths and other large animals from the Ice Age, the researchers say. “Most Neanderthals could have even lived in southern regions, especially in Italy and on the Iberian Peninsula, where they cultivated a lifestyle as we found it in Figueira Brava,” summarizes Zilhão.
The question of why our ancestors were able to displace them will surely keep anthropologists occupied. While the fact that the Neanderthals were somewhat less successful in obtaining food remains a possible reason, there does not seem to be a simple answer in this connection, as the study shows.
Source: University of Barcelona, Technical article: Science, doi: 10.1126 / science.aaz7943