The Neanderthal Thread

Moving back the date of an evolutionary split between Neandertals and H. sapiens appears reasonable based on the new data, says paleoanthropologist Aurélien Mounier of Musée de l’Homme in Paris. The timing of that split could still change, though, if further research modifies the Spanish fossils’ age, he says.

Other Spanish hominid teeth dating to nearly 800,000 years ago display some Neandertal features, supporting the new study’s conclusions

The footprints were made on a sand dune a couple of kilometres from the sea around 35,000 years before our species — Homo sapiens — is thought to have arrived in this part of Europe.

Although no skeletal remains have been found at the Le Rozel site, Dr Duveau said the shape of the footprints was consistent with what we know about the anatomy of Neanderthals, gleaned from remains found at other sites.

"They are relatively broader, especially in the midfoot, than the footprints made by Homo sapiens, which corresponds to a more robust foot and a less pronounced arch," he said.

The footprints were also found alongside many flaked stone tools crafted using the distinctive Mousterian style that has been associated with Neanderthals.

To work out who was in the group, the researchers measured the best-preserved footprints and worked out a size-to-height ratio, as well as measuring the depth of the imprints.

They compared the footprints to 3D models of ancient and modern human footprints from other sites, as well as those from an experiment with local people of different ages walking barefoot on sand.

Most of the Neanderthal group was less than 130 centimetres tall, but at 175cm one individual stood head and shoulders above the rest.

when the Finlaysons reviewed the bird remains from some 154 Neanderthal sites, they found large-bodied raptors—largely Golden Eagles— at 75 (or nearly half) of those sites.

The proportion of large raptors far exceeded what’s natural in the wild, given that apex predators tend to be among the rarest animals in a given environment. This prevalence of eagles was particularly notable to Eugene Morin, an anthropologist at the University of Trent who was not involved in the study. “We don't have evidence that they're using waterfowl or things like ducks or geese or swans,” he says. “They’re systematically using large raptors such as vultures and eagles and large falcons.”

The Finlaysons argue that not only were Neanderthals targeting raptors, but that they particularly valued Golden Eagles, given their prevalence in the deposits. The eagle remains largely constituted wing bones and talons, which are far from the most appetizing parts of the bird. The wings showed signs of being scraped, perhaps to dislodge big primary feathers for decoration. And then there were the eagle talons, which had been carefully detached from the toe bones—evidence of intentional butchery and polishing. This is likely an early step in a long-continuing human tradition, Finlayson says: catching eagles and carrying their parts as a token of the bird’s strength.

By the time modern humans arrived in Europe 45,000 years ago, and before raptor remains begin turning up in their sites, Neanderthals had been capturing eagles and other large raptors for at least 85,000 years, Finlayson says. It’s possible that our ancestors watched them hunt and harvest eagle feathers and talons—and learned.

The findings chime with recent evidence that Neanderthals had “surfers’ ear” and may have dived to collect shells for use as tools. Previous finds in Spain have shown they decorated seashells and were producing rock art 65,000 years ago.

The discovery appears to throws cold water on the idea that the marine-rich diet of modern humans, high in fatty acids, helped them to outcompete Neanderthals as a result of better cognition.