New ANU studies show that Neanderthals from the southern Pyrenees were highly adaptable and talented at hunting, challenging old stereotypes and offering insight into their survival and eventual extinction.
An unexplored region at the foot of the Southern Pyrenees in Spain sheds light on a little-known era of Neanderthal history. New studies from the Australian National University (ANU) suggest that this domain may be offering valuable clues to help archaeologists get to the bottom of the mystery of Neanderthal decline.
Abric Pizarro is one of the few sites in the world that dates back to 100,000 to 65,000 years ago, an era called MIS 4. Researchers have collected thousands of artifacts, adding stone equipment, animal bones and other evidence, offering significant knowledge about The life path of Neanderthals at that time was largely unknown in human history until now.
The findings reveal that Neanderthals adapted to their environment, defying archaic humans’ reputation as slow-footed cave dwellers and losing sweetness in their survival and hunting skills.
Dr Sofia Samper Carro, lead archaeologist and from the ANU, said the effects show that Neanderthals knew the most productive tactics to exploit dominance and territory and were resilient in the face of harsh climatic conditions.
“Our unexpected discoveries at Abric Pizarro show how adaptable Neanderthals were. The animal bones we recovered imply that they effectively exploited the surrounding wildlife, hunting deer, horses and bison, but also eating freshwater turtles and rabbits, implying a degree of planning that is rarely done with Neanderthals,” he said.
According to the researchers, this new wisdom challenges the widespread belief that Neanderthals hunted giant animals, such as horses and rhinos.
“Thanks to the bones found, which show cut marks, we have direct evidence that Neanderthals hunted small animals,” says Dr. Samper Carro.
“The bones from this are very well preserved and we can see lines of how Neanderthals treated and slaughtered those animals.
“Our stone artifact research also demonstrates variability in the type of equipment produced, indicating the ability of Neanderthals to exploit the resources available in the region. “
Shedding light on this transitional era is helping archaeologists get closer to solving a mystery that has plagued researchers for decades: what drove Neanderthals to extinction?
According to the researchers, the discovery of sites such as Abric Pizarro, from this express and poorly documented era, provides data on how Neanderthals lived when there were still modern humans in the region and shows that they thrived.
“Abric Pizarro’s exclusive provides insight into the behavior of Neanderthals in a landscape that had been roaming for thousands of years,” said Dr. Samper Carro.
“Neanderthals became extinct about 40,000 years ago. Suddenly we fashionable humans appear in this region of the Pyrenees, and the Neanderthals dissemble. But before that, Neanderthals lived in Europe for almost 300,000 years.
“They obviously knew what they were doing. They had known the domain and how to do it for a long time.
“That’s one of the most attractive things about this site, having this exclusive information about when Neanderthals lived in difficult situations and how they prospered before modern humans came along. “
Thanks to modern excavation techniques, Abric Pizarro and other nearby Neanderthal sites provide excellent insights into Neanderthal behaviour.
“We suggest remains discovered in 3D that measure more than one or two centimeters. This slows down our work and we have been excavating some of those sites for more than 20 years, but it makes for an exceptionally accurate record of the sites,” said Dr. Samper Carro.
“We are interested in how other knowledge relates to others, from stone equipment to bones to hearths. These deeper excavations give archaeologists data about how Neanderthals lived and how long they stayed in an area.
“It’s not just the individual tissues that give us clues, but also their precise location in relation to other tissues at the site that allows us to perceive how and when Neanderthals visited those sites. Did they settle there or were they just passing through?
The team also included scientists from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (CEPAP-UAB). Research in the Catalan Pre-Pyrenees is supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain and the Department of Culture of the Generalitat of Catalonia.
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