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CHICAGO—Scientists have long argued that Neandertal remains from the site of Krapina in northern Croatia exhibit evidence of cannibalism. The fragmentary nature of the bones, along with cut marks on a number of fragments, were said to be signs that our closest relatives feasted on one another. But a new study suggests that the nicks seem to be the result of much more recent handiwork.

Paleoanthropologist and archaeologist Jörg Orschiedt of the University of Hamburg in Germany reported yesterday at the annual meeting of the Paleoanthropology Society here that cut marks in the Krapina fossils he studied are randomly distributed and did not necessarily occur in spots that would permit de-fleshing (such as where muscles attach to bones). What's more, the scratches varied – some were shallow and others deep.

“I kept thinking it doesn’t make sense,” Orschiedt told ScientificAmerican.com.

An alternative explanation to cannibalism dawned on him as he sifted through photos of the bones. Specifically, he came across a picture of a bone fragment with the letter F for femur (the thighbone) scrawled on it. It turns out the bone was mislabeled—it was actually part of a shinbone, not a thighbone—but what caught Orschiedt’s eye was that the cut marks interrupted the F. He concluded that the scratches were likely made inadvertently by a researcher—possibly during measurement of the bone with sharp instruments—after the bone was labeled, probably in the early 1900s.

One Krapina specimen that Orschiedt believes does have genuinely ancient cut marks is a famous partial skull known as the C skull. These nicks, which appear in the center of the forehead, are encrusted with minerals that could only have accumulated long ago. What do the marks mean? “It’s tempting to say it has to do with burial customs,” he says, although it is impossible to know the exact nature of those practices.

As for the fact that many of the Krapina Neandertal bones are broken to bits, which investigators have long attributed to the hominids extracting nutritious marrow, Orschiedt believes that hungry carnivores were responsible for much of the damage. He also thinks that as the roof of the rock shelter crumbled over time, falling rocks smashed the bones.

If Orschiedt is right, what is arguably the most famous example of cannibalism among our closest relatives can no longer be held up as such. That does not mean Neandertals never ate their own, however. Neandertal remains from other sites bear signs that they snacked on one another.. But Orschiedt says some of those fossils, too, should be re-examined in light of his observations at Krapina.

Image of a Neandertal replication courtesy of JacobEnos via Flickr

7 Comments

1. 1. Dr Laytex 08:05 PM 4/2/09

   Were those bones from the Donnerstone party?

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2. 2. Eyza 03:37 PM 4/3/09

   This argument about Neandertal cannibalism(or not) seems to go on and on. I read at least one article some years agoi,when I started doing research on Neandertals for a book I'm writing, that what looked like Krapina "cannibalism" may have been some form of defleshing for secondary burial, a custom known to exist among some modern human cultures. On the other hand, there's thesite of Moula-Guercy, where there appears to have been cannibalism of some sort, also at one Spanish site. Unfortunately, when people -- even scientists -- bring up "cannibalism" among Neandertals, the assumption seems to be that they just up and ate each other. But since Neandertals areh't here to tell us about their society or customs, or burial rituals, we have no way of knowing exactly what the *context* of this cannibalism might have been: e.g. survival("eat me so the tribe can go on), ritually eating dead enemies, eating Grandpa Joe or Aunt Sally because you loved them so? There's no way to tell.
   Anne G

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3. 3. notthe600 in reply to Dr Laytex 06:03 PM 4/3/09

   Why exactly are we worried about neandertal cannibalism or the evidence for or against it? Evidence is overwhelmingly plentiful for Homo sapiens cannibalism.

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4. 4. Eyza 07:06 PM 4/3/09

   It's not the "cannibalism" per se that I "worry" about, but rather (a) the imploication of "brutishness" and "otherness" that has dogged Neandertals practically since the time of their discovery, and (b) the lack of "context' for this cannibalism(e.g.,did they just up and eat each other? Did they have an ethic of "eat me so the tribe can go on?" if somebody was sick anyway and would have died? Did they eat Grandpa Joe 'cause they loved him so? We don't know, but these are miportant considerations relating to this issue.

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5. 5. Al Sundel 12:40 PM 4/4/09

   Neanderthals survived for at least 200,000 years, advancing the survival techniques of the pre-Neanderthals who succeeded them for at least 300,000 years. They were the first people to build sustained settled communities (In Israel and SW France), which preceded the rest of the world by some 50,000 years. Their Mousterian stone technology led the world in tool manufacture for almost 200,000 years, replaced by the blade culture now recognized as their invention. Stone Age bone piles do not necessarily reflect cannibalism, which still persisted in our ancient world, but were fuel depots to burn fire in the long winters, as wood was scarce.

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6. 6. Cat 09:10 PM 4/5/09

   I agree with Eyza that there appears to be an implied denigration of Neandertals abroad. These people lived a long time. Will Homo sapiens last as long? Given his nihilistic behaviour it seems unlikely.

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7. 7. Cat 09:11 PM 4/5/09

   I agree with Eyza that there appears to be an implied denigration of Neandertals abroad. These people lived a long time. Will Homo sapiens last as long? Given his nihilistic behaviour it seems unlikely.

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