A conclusion has been drawn from analyses of Neanderthal skeletal remains discovered in the third cave of the Goyet archaeological site in Belgium, dating back between 41,000 and 45,000 years.
While cannibalistic practices of this extinct hominid subspecies are a hypothesis already supported by evidence found at other sites, the Goyet site is unique because cannibalism primarily focused on adult women and children.
“The biological profile of the victims, identified for the first time, reveals they belonged to an external group to the community, for which they were likely brought to be consumed as food, not in a ritualistic context,” highlighted the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), one of the participants in the study, in a press release issued on Thursday and cited by Efe.
This is suggested by “the presence of remains similar to those found on animal bones consumed by the inhabitants of the Goyet archaeological site,” the sources explained.
The study, published on Wednesday in the journal Scientific Reports, contextualizes these analyses at the end of the Middle Paleolithic, a period in northern Europe characterized by significant cultural diversity among Neanderthal groups and the emerging presence of Homo sapiens.
It suggests that these forms of cannibalism might be a symptom of “territorial tensions.”
They directly precede “the disappearance of Neanderthals in the region,” observed the CNRS, in the release.
“These conclusions are based on ten years of research involving a reassessment of the Goyet collection through DNA analysis, radiocarbon dating, isotopic measurements to determine the individuals’ geographic origin, and virtual reconstructions that allow morphological analysis of these often very fragmented human bones,” specified the study’s authors.
