A new study has found that Neanderthals hunted turtles to use their shells as tools

Scientists say so Reptile shells These fish caught by children may have been used as scoops or digging tools by early humans more than 100,000 years ago.

Careful cleaning of fragments found at the Neumark-Nord archaeological site in Germany indicates that turtle shells were used as small containers or shovel-like tools, news agency SWNS reported.

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An international research team has examined pieces of a turtle shell – dating back about 125,000 years – that were discovered during excavation in what is now the Saxony-Anhalt region of Germany.

Using methods including High-resolution 3D scanningThe researchers found that many of the 92 pieces bore cut marks on their internal surfaces, indicating that the turtles were carefully butchered by Neanderthals, with limbs separated, internal organs removed and the shells thoroughly cleaned.

The researchers believe the pond turtles were not used as food, as the abundance of highly productive prey meant there was likely a caloric surplus in the area. (Istock)

“Our data provides just that,” said study leader Professor Sabine Gaudzinski-Windweiser The first clue “Neanderthals hunted and processed tortoises north of the Alps, outside the Mediterranean.”

However, the team believes that the turtles were not used as a food source.

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“We can virtually rule this out, given the abundance of remains (from),” said Gudzinski Windhäuser, of the Institute for Paleological Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU) in Mainz. Large and highly productive predators On this site. There was in all likelihood a complete calorie surplus,” SWNS noted.

More than 100,000 animal bones or bone fragments have already been recovered at Neumark-Nord, including many deer, cattle and horse bones, as well as animal bones. The largest land mammal At that time – the European elephant with straight tusks, which could weigh more than 10 tons.

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The research team reported last year that Neanderthals ran a kind of “factory” at the site, systematically extracting fat from the bones of large mammals.

“Pond turtles have relatively low nutritional value, weighing about 2.2 pounds,” the study’s lead author said. (Istock)

“Pond turtles have a relatively low nutritional value,” weighing in at about 2.2 pounds, Gudzinski-Windweiser said.

“However, they are relatively easy to catch, so they may have been hunted by children. Their shells may have then been processed into tools.”

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It is also possible that they are hunted for their taste or for their taste, she said Medical value – A proposal supported by the results of studies conducted on subsequent indigenous peoples.

“Our data provide the first evidence that Neanderthals hunted and processed tortoises north of the Alps, outside the Mediterranean region,” said the study’s lead author (not pictured). (Istock)

Gudzinski-Windweiser added: “Our current results shed new light on ecological resilience and… Complex survival strategies “From Neanderthals, who went further than simply maximizing calories.”

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The new study was published in the journal Scientific Reports. It is the latest in a series of ongoing scientific analyzes of material from the former open-pit lignite mine at Neumark-Nord.