Shells of captured reptiles may have been used as ladles

Neanderthals hunted European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) in Central Europe though probably not for food. The careful cleaning of carapace elements at Neumark-Nord indicates that shells were reused, perhaps as small containers or scoop-like implements. This is the finding reported by an international research team led by Professor Dr. Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser of the Institute for Ancient Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, MONREPOS/LEIZA, together with Dr. Lutz Kindler of MONREPOS/LEIZA and Prof. Dr. Wil Roebroeks of Leiden University, the Netherlands, now published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The researchers examined turtle shell fragments approximately 125,000 years old, discovered at the world-renowned Palaeolithic site of Neumark-Nord in what is today Saxony-Anhalt. Using methods including high-resolution 3D scanning, they found that many of the 92 fragments bear cut marks on their inner surfaces, indicating that the turtles were carefully butchered by Neanderthals – with limbs detached, internal organs removed, and the shells thoroughly cleaned. "Our data provide the first evidence that Neanderthals also hunted and processed turtles north of the Alps, beyond the Mediterranean region," said Gaudzinski-Windheuser.

Easy to catch – and perhaps hunted by children

The researchers believe the turtles were not used as a food source. "We can virtually rule this out given the abundance of remains from large, high-yield prey animals at this site. There was in all likelihood a complete caloric surplus," said Gaudzinski-Windheuser. In total, well over one hundred thousand animal bones or bone fragments have already been recovered at Neumark-Nord, including numerous bones from deer, cattle, and horses, as well as from the largest land mammals of the time – the European straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus), which could weigh more than ten tonnes. Last year, Gaudzinski-Windheuser, Kindler, and Roebroeks reported that Neanderthals had operated a kind of "factory" at the site, systematically extracting fat from the bones of large mammals (see press release: "Neanderthals were already running 'fat factories' 125,000 years ago").

"With a weight of around one kilogram, pond turtles have a comparatively low nutritional value," said Gaudzinski-Windheuser. "However, they are relatively easy to catch and may therefore have been hunted by children. Their shells may then have been processed into tools." It is also possible that they were hunted for their taste or for an assumed medicinal value, a suggestion supported by findings from studies of later indigenous peoples. "Our current results shed new light on the ecological flexibility and complex survival strategies of Neanderthals, which went far beyond simple caloric maximization," said Gaudzinski-Windheuser.

The study now published in Scientific Reports is the latest in a series of ongoing scientific analyses of material from the former open-cast lignite mine at Neumark-Nord. The research projects are carried out by a joint team from the Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, MONREPOS, in Neuwied – a facility of the Leibniz Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA) – together with JGU and Leiden University. They are made possible through the continued support of the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt.