Neanderthals Hunted and Butchered Elephants 125,000 Years Ago

In 1948, a team led by a local headmaster in Lehringen, Germany, unearthed the skeleton of a straight-tusked elephant dating back 125,000 years. Notably, a complete wooden spear was found between the elephant's ribs, suggesting Neanderthal involvement. Recent analysis by researchers from the University of Göttingen and the Lower Saxony State Office for Heritage has identified numerous cut marks on the ribs and vertebrae, confirming that Neanderthals butchered the elephant on-site. This discovery provides the most convincing evidence to date of a successful elephant hunt by Neanderthals. The male elephant, approximately 30 years old, would have provided around 3,500 kilograms of meat, organs, and fat, sufficient to feed a large group for an extended period. Additional findings at the site include plant remains and bones from 16 animal species, such as fish, birds, and turtles, indicating a diverse diet. Evidence of butchering marks on aurochs and brown bear bones suggests that Neanderthals also extracted bone marrow and utilized fur. Ivo Verheijen of the Lower Saxony State Office for Heritage, lead author of the study, stated, "It appears that Neanderthals in Lehringen repeatedly spent a long period of time at the lake and pursued diverse hunting strategies." Professor Thomas Terberger added, "The finds... provide a crucial building block for an up-to-date understanding of Neanderthals, who were already hunting strategically with the same level of skill as anatomically modern humans were 125,000 years ago." The study was published in Scientific Reports.