It’s quite difficult to know what was on the menu for Neanderthals, especially since smaller objects like birds usually don’t leave many archaeological traces. While we know that some cooked crabs and other seafood and hunted larger game, learning more about their diet is crucial to understanding how these incredibly adaptive hominids thrived in very different environments. To do this, a team of scientists attempted to cook modern birds using the methods and tools that would have been available to Neanderthals. The process is described in detail in a small study published July 24 in the journal Frontiers in environmental archaeology.
[Related: Humans have been eating hazelnuts for at least 6,000 years.]
“Using a flint flake for slaughter required significant precision and effort, which we had not fully appreciated before this experiment,” says Mariana Nabais, co-author and archaeologist of the study at the Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social in Spain, said in a statement. “The flakes were sharper than we initially thought and required careful handling to make precise cuts without injuring our own fingers. These hands-on experiments highlighted the practical challenges associated with Neanderthals’ food processing and cooking, providing a tangible connection to their daily lives and survival strategies.”
Neanderthal butchers
Neanderthals hunted large animals, including cave lions, but scientists know less about the smaller bird species that some Neanderthals ate. To find out more, the team tested the food preparation methods they might have used on different wild birds. They hoped to see what tool marks are left on animal bones and how those marks compare to the damage caused by more natural causes of death.
The team created an experimental database that can be compared with findings from real archaeological sites. To build it, the team collected five wild birds that had died of natural causes at the Wildlife Ecology, Rehabilitation and Surveillance Center in Gouveia, Portugal. The team selected two carrion crows, two Turkish pigeons and a wood pigeon – a species similar to what Neanderthals would have eaten. To select the cooking methods, they referred back to evidence found in the archaeological record and ethnographic data.
Each bird was feathered by hand. One collared dove and one carrion crow were slaughtered raw using a flint flake. The remaining three were roasted over hot coals until done, and then slaughtered. The team found that this second method was easier than slaughtering the raw birds.
“Roasting the birds over the coals required maintaining a constant temperature and closely monitoring the cooking time to avoid overcooking the meat,” says Nabais. “Perhaps the roasting process went much faster than we expected because we feathered the birds before cooking. In fact, we spent more time preparing the coals than the actual cooking, which took less than ten minutes.”
Bones that are not built to last
The team then cleaned the bones, dried them and examined them under a microscope for cuts, fractures and burns. They also looked at the flint flakes they had used as evidence of wear during slaughter.
While they had used their hands for most of the butchering, the raw birds needed the flint flake. This left small crescent-shaped scars on the edge. The cuts used to remove the meat from the raw birds left no strain on the bones, but the cuts aimed at the tendons left marks similar to those on bird remains found at archaeological sites.
The roasted birds had bones that were much more brittle. Some were completely shattered and could not be repaired. Nearly all had black or brown burns consistent with controlled heat exposure. The black spots suggested that the contents of the inner cavity had also been burned. This evidence shed indicates parts of how Neanderthal food preparation might have worked, but also sheds light on how visible that preparation may be in the archaeological record. While roasting makes it easier to access the animal’s meat, the greater fragility of the bones means the remains may not be found by archaeologists.
[Related: Bronze Age nomads used cauldrons for blood sausage and yak milk.]
To better understand Neanderthals’ diets, future studies could include more prey types and also process birds for non-food items, such as feathers or claws.
“The sample size is relatively small and consists of only five bird specimens, which may not fully represent the diversity of bird species that Neanderthals may have used,” Nabais said. “Second, the experimental conditions, although carefully controlled, cannot fully replicate the exact ecological and cultural context of Neanderthal life. Further research with larger samples, varied species and more diverse experimental conditions is needed to extend these results.”