Life during the Ice Age was not easy, but it appears that Neanderthals suffered more than just the weather and lack of food. It turned out that they also had to fight giant birds of prey. Researchers from Poland have discovered the remains of a Neanderthal that passed through the digestive system of a large bird.
Rare find
Tiny fragments of finger bones no more than a centimeter in size were found in the Dark Cave in Poland. Researchers initially assumed that these bones belonged to animals, but it turned out that it was a Neanderthal between the ages of 5 and 7. The find is 115,000 years old. The poor condition of the bones does not allow DNA analysis, but scientists are confident in their identity.
“We have no doubt that these are the remains of a Neanderthal man, since they were found in a very deep layer of the cave, several meters below the present surface,” said Professor Pavel Walde-Nowak from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. "This layer also contains stone tools typical of Neanderthals."
Evidence for Neanderthals in Poland
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The fact that the bones found belonged to a Neanderthal is remarkable in itself, since evidence of the existence of these ancient hominins in Poland is quite rare. But especially intriguing were the findings of scientists that these bones were in the bird's digestive system.
“Only isolated fragments of fossil bones belonging to the relatives of modern humans (Homo sapiens) have survived to this day in Poland,” Walde-Nowak said. "In general, the machines of Neanderthals found in Poland can be enumerated on the fingers of one hand!"
In addition to the bones found in the Dark Cave, three teeth were also found in the Stajna Cave. It is located 100 kilometers north of the Carpathian Mountains. Neanderthals probably appeared in Poland about 300,000 years ago, as in the rest of Europe.
Was there a hunt?
The found finger bones are dotted with small holes, and this, according to the researchers, indicates that they passed through the digestive system of a large bird. “This is the first known example of this kind during the Ice Age,” Walde-Novak said.
So, can we assume that the giant bird was hunting an innocent child? Researchers cannot say for sure. Although they assume that the bird may have attacked and ate the child, it cannot be ruled out that it simply stumbled upon a dead body, which means that there was no hunt.
The version that the bird, albeit a giant one, is hunting for a child may seem implausible, but many modern bird species are quite formidable predators, although, fortunately, they do not eat children. However, New Zealand's extinct Haast Eagle had talons strong enough to pierce a human's pelvis.
Therefore, it is possible that the Neanderthals had to repel the attacks of giant birds of prey. And since they killed bears for meat and skins, it can be assumed that birds were not too much of a problem for them.
The results of the research by Polish scientists will be published later this year in the journal Paleolithic Archeology.
Author: Anna Pismenna