BURGOS, SPAIN—According to a statement released by Spain’s National Center for Research on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Abel Moclán and his colleagues examined the distribution of animal remains and stone tools left behind by Neanderthals at the Navalmaíllo Rock Shelter some 76,000 years ago. They determined that the site was used sporadically by hunting parties, who brought deer, large bovids, and other prey back to the cave. The flattest, highest area of the cave contained the most evidence of activity, but the distribution pattern over the successive visits was highly uneven. “This shows us that these groups practiced different models of occupation of the space to fit their needs, as the spatial behavior we identify at Navalmaíllo does not match what we see at other hunting camps from the same period,” Moclán explained. Most of the meat from each kill was probably carried to another location to be shared with the rest of the group, he concluded. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. To read about early Neanderthals' hunting prowess, go to "Weapons of the Ancient World: Hunting Equipment."
