More and more evidence has appeared showing that Neanderthals were maligned for a long time as very primitive people! See also my recent blog post here.
"Neanderthals living in what is now Belgium made a kind of prehistoric Swiss Army Knife from the bones of a cave lion some 130,000 years ago. Found in the hugely significant Scladina Cave – which once yielded the remains of a well-preserved Neanderthal child – the ancient utensils provide the first evidence that our extinct cousins exploited Eurasia’s most fearsome predator for practical purposes. ..."
From the abstract:
"Throughout history, humans have had a complex relationship with lions, both reverencing and fearing them. Interactions between Neanderthals and cave lions (Panthera spelaea) remain poorly documented due to the scarcity of direct evidence. This study examines the selective use of cave lion bones by Neanderthals to determine whether this behaviour was driven by practical, functional, or symbolic factors, through a detailed zooarchaeological analysis.
Previous studies highlighted Neanderthals’ skinning and butchering of cave lions, yet new discoveries at Scladina Cave (Belgium) offer deeper insights into this relationship.
Dated to the end of the Saalian, the faunal assemblage provides the earliest evidence of bone tools crafted from cave lion remains.
A tibia was deliberately processed into multifunctional tools, initially serving as an intermediate tool before being repurposed as retouchers.
Proteomic analysis applied on the remains, confirmed the specific identification. These findings reveal that Neanderthals not only competed with but actively utilized cave lions for practical purposes, indicating complex ecological and behavioral interactions.
Relationships between pre-humans and large predators, rooted in the Middle Pleistocene, suggest a strategic exploitation of carnivore remains. However, opportunistic procurement cannot be entirely ruled out as a potential factor influencing animal choice in tool production. The intentional transformation of lion bones into functional tools highlights Neanderthals’ cognitive skills, adaptability, and capacity for resource utilization beyond their immediate survival needs."
Earliest evidence of Neanderthal multifunctional bone tool production from cave lion (Panthera spelaea) remains (open access)
Credits: The Flyover
Fig. 3 The four bone retouchers made on cave lion remains excavated in Scladina Cave Archaeological Assemblage 5—Sc1986-1278-160
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