Neanderthals practiced ‘light’ cannibalism with women and children on the menu | Science | News

A study of Neanderthal bones has revealed evidence of ‘light, selective’ cannibalism targeting women and girls around 40,000 years ago.

Chilling new research has uncovered a terrifying chapter of prehistory in a Belgian cave after scientists examined dismembered skeletons.

The investigation found fresh bone fractures, blow marks and cut marks identical to those left on hunted animal carcasses; these were all clear signs of butchery.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, reveals the result of ten years of detective work by an international team from CNRS, the University of Bordeaux and Aix-Marseille.

The researchers suggest that this targeted brutality may reflect Stone Age territorial disputes, when Neanderthal tribes competed for territory and resources during a chaotic period, when the region was populated by diverse Neanderthal societies and the first modern humans were pushing into neighboring areas.

It offers a harsh, chilling look at a world where existence is brutal and “not being from here” can be deadly.

Although cannibalism was not common among Neanderthals, Goyet’s latest discoveries reveal exactly how brutal wildlife in the Ice Age frontierlands could have become, and how the tensions of that time may have driven communities to terrifying depths.