125,000-year-old Neanderthal Bone Processing Site Discovered in Germany

Stone Age humans living near a lake in present-day Germany systematically processed animal carcasses to extract fatty nutrients, according to new research.

Archaeological Findings

Archaeologists analyzed approximately 120,000 bone fragments and 16,000 flint tools excavated over several years at the Neumark-Nord site, south of Halle. The artifacts were found alongside evidence of fire use.

Researchers suggest that Neanderthals, who lived in the area around 125,000 years ago, broke marrow-rich bones into fragments using stone hammers and then boiled them for several hours to extract fat, which could be collected after cooling.

This process would have required planning hunts, transporting and storing carcasses, and rendering fat in a designated area. The findings contribute to understanding the group's organization, strategy, and survival skills.

"This attitude that Neanderthals were dumb — this is another data point that proves otherwise," said Wil Roebroeks, study coauthor and professor of Paleolithic archaeology at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Recent archaeological discoveries indicate that Neanderthals had more advanced skills than previously thought. They lived across Eurasia and disappeared around 40,000 years ago. Previous studies have found evidence of Neanderthals making yarn and glue, engraving bones and cave walls, and creating jewelry from eagle talons.

Details from the new research suggest Neanderthals may have had a sophisticated approach to nutrition.

Nutritional Strategies and Protein Poisoning

The study indicates that Neanderthals at the German site understood the nutritional value of the bone grease they produced.

A small amount of fat is essential for a balanced diet. For hunter-gatherers like Neanderthals, who likely relied heavily on animal foods, fat was particularly important.

A diet high in lean meat but low in fatty acids can lead to a form of malnutrition known as protein poisoning, where the body's ability to process protein is impaired. This condition was referred to by early European explorers as "rabbit poisoning" or "mal de caribou."

Hunter-gatherers such as Neanderthals, with average body weights between 50 and 80 kilograms (110 to 175 pounds), would have needed to keep their protein intake below 300 grams (about 10 ounces) per day to avoid this condition, which is about 1,200 calories—less than daily energy requirements. Therefore, Neanderthals likely needed to obtain additional calories from nonprotein sources, such as fat or carbohydrates.

Muscle meat contains little fat, making bones—which contain marrow and other fatty tissue—even when an animal is malnourished—a significant resource.

Researchers found that most remains at the site came from 172 large animals, including horses, deer, and aurochs (now extinct large bovines). Neanderthals selected the longest bones, which contained the most marrow.

Processing Methods and Plant Use

The exact methods Neanderthals used to process the bones are not fully known. The study authors suggest that ancient humans may have created containers or pots from birch bark, animal skins, or other body parts, filled them with water, and heated them over a fire.

Neanderthals may have consumed the extracted fat as a broth, possibly adding plants for flavor and nutritional value. Charred remains of hazelnut, acorn, and sloe plum were also found during excavations.

"These weren’t simple hunter-gatherers just getting by day to day — they were master planners who could look ahead, organise complex tasks, and squeeze every last calorie from their environment," said study coauthor Geoff Smith, senior researcher in zooarchaeology at the University of Reading.

Expert Commentary

Ludovic Slimak, an archaeologist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research and Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, who was not involved in the study, commented on the findings.

"They finally offer clear archaeological confirmation of what many of us had long suspected: that Neanderthals not only valued within-bone lipids but developed specific strategies to extract and process them," Slimak said.

"This aligns closely with the broader archaeological record, which shows Neanderthals as highly skilled big-game hunters with a refined sense of ecological adaptation."

Bruce Hardy, professor of anthropology at Kenyon College, also not involved in the research, described the Neumark-Nord site as a significant example of bone-grease rendering from this period of the Stone Age.

"The combination of evidence presented here at Neumark-Nord is impressive," Hardy said. "It may well represent the smoldering gun, or simmering bone broth, of Neanderthal bone-grease rendering."