45,000 Years Ago, These Neanderthals Cannibalized Women And Children From A Rival Group

Neanderthals in what is now Belgium may have eaten the weakest members of an enemy clan around 45,000 years ago. Analyzing the bones of these massacred victims, researchers have revealed that they all belong to petite females and children, suggesting that these individuals were specifically targeted by the cannibals.

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Found in a cavern within the Goyet caves, the bones appear to represent a minimum of six individuals, four of whom were identified as adult or adolescent females, while the remaining two – a child and a baby – were found to be male. With the exception of the newborn, all of the skeletons display unmistakable signs of having been butchered, making this the largest assemblage of cannibalized Neanderthal remains in northern Europe.

Previous isotopic analysis has indicated that the six victims were not local and were therefore not members of the tribe that consumed their flesh. To learn more about who these unfortunate Neanderthals were and why they were eaten, the study authors analyzed the size, shape, and robusticity of the long bones in their limbs.

Comparing these with other Neanderthal skeletons, the researchers noted that the victims were all of low stature and that their robusticity indices were clustered towards the bottom end of the spectrum. In other words, they were all rather short and dainty for Neanderthals. 

Moreover, despite being foreigners, their physical condition suggests that they had not been particularly mobile during their lives, which means they probably didn’t stray into enemy territory while foraging.

“The Neandertal individuals from Goyet that were anthropogenically processed not only indicate exocannibalistic practices, but they also testify to a targeted predatory behaviour toward gracile, short-statured female individuals, and possibly immature individuals,” write the study authors. Putting it another way, they say the evidence “suggests that weaker members of one or multiple groups from a single neighbouring region were deliberately targeted.”

And while it’s impossible to say exactly what motivated this unspeakable act, the researchers point out that exocannibalism – meaning the consumption of foreigners – by humans “is typically associated with warfare or competition between groups, involving the violent abduction of individuals from outside communities.”

Dated to between 41,000 and 45,000 years ago, the Goyet skeletons coincide with the arrival of Homo sapiens in western Europe. According to the researchers, the extra competition and stress that our ancestors’ presence placed on Neanderthals may have led to increased inter-group violence, potentially triggering this episode of cannibalism.

The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.