A discovery by archaeologists at the Neumark-Nord 2 site in central Germany has allowed them to gain a deeper understanding of the dietary habits of our Neanderthal ancestors. The site features a ‘fat factory’ which indicates that earlier man employed an advanced food preparation technique — using water and heat — to strip fat away from the bones of large animals.
In other areas of the world, members of early civilisations smashed bones to access marrow which has nutritional value — but this development shows actions beyond that technique. International researchers discovered that the early humans at the German site crushed bones into fragments before boiling them to create bone grease which is a nutrient-rich resource. According to GB News, these findings suggest Neanderthals possessed a far more sophisticated understanding of nutrition and food management than previously believed.
The research was conducted by teams from MONREPOS (Leibniz Centre for Archaeology), Leiden University in the Netherlands, the University of Reading and the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology of Saxony-Anhalt. It was published in Science Advances which detailed the discovery.
Dr Lutz Kindler who was the lead author on the study said: “This was intensive, organised, and strategic. Neanderthals were managing resources with caution, planning hunts, transporting carcasses, and rendering fat in a task-specific area. They understood both the nutritional value of fat and how to access it efficiently.”
The revelation that Neanderthals produced bone grease which required a substantial amount of bone to be viable is significant because its creation was previously believed to be exclusive to Upper Palaeolithic modern humans. This development pushes back the timeline of its use by thousands of years and fundamentally changes the understanding of Neanderthals’ adaptation through their dietary practices.
Evacuations conducted throughout the years of 2004 to 2009 showed distinct zones for different activities of the early humans. Much like contemporary houses which have entertainment and sleep zones, Neanderthals used several sections of the site for varying purposes. These included an area for deer hunting and light butchering, another for processing straight-tusked elephants, and a third specialised area for fat removal.
“What makes Neumark-Nord so exceptional is the preservation of an entire landscape, not just a single site,” offered Leiden University’s Professor Wil Roebroeks.
“We are seeing a range of Neanderthal behaviours within the same landscape.”
Scientists discovered that at least 170 large mammals, including deer, horses and aurochs, were butchered at the historic site.
The Neumark-Nord complex, was a significant find when it was located in the 1980s by archaeologist Dietrich Mania, and it represents a complete interglacial ecosystem which is still yielding new discoveries today.
The activities conducted by Neanderthals most likely had long-term environmental impacts on the region with Professor Roebroeks adding that mass hunting of slow-reproducing species would have substantially impacted local fauna.
The recent discoveries challenge a long-held stereotype of Neanderthals as brutish cavemen and offer greater insight into their capabilities. It revealed that the species was able to plan for the future, maximise nutrition in resource-poor conditions and manage their surrounding environment.