Mysterious disappearance of Neanderthals about 30 thousand years ago, a worried minds of scientists.
Now French researchers have found that the fate of this species was sad. In their view, Neanderthals were eaten by our ancestors. At the conclusion of this prompted the recent excavations.
This is evidenced by teeth marks, cracks and fractures discovered by archaeologists on the bones of Neanderthals during excavations in Leroy in southwest France. Teeth marks are the same as on the bones of deer and other animals eaten by our ancestors in the Stone Age. Scientists believe that people ate meat, and necklaces made from teeth, reports The Daily Mail.
Leading specialist teams of archaeologists Rotstsi Fernando (Fernando Rozzi) from the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, said: "Neanderthals were wiped out by people, and in some cases have been eaten. For years, people have tried to ignore the cannibalism of our ancestors, but we have found that living proof ".
Rotstsi sure that the tracks on the bones prove that people hunted the Neanderthals, and then ate their meat in the caves, and their teeth were used as trophies.
Neanderthals lived on Earth 300 thousand years ago. They had several ice ages before disappearing 30 thousand years ago, at about the same time as in Europe there were modern humans who came from Africa.
Neanderthals were highly prominent nose, big eyebrows on a big face without a chin.
According to one theory, the Neanderthals died out because they could not compete with people who have had a more developed mind, more sophisticated tools for obtaining food.
Other scientists believe that this kind of disappeared under the impact of climate change.
In the academic community views on cannibalism divided. Francesco d'Errico (Francesco d'Errico) from the Institute of Ancient History at Bordeaux do not agree with this theory. According to him, one set of bones is not to say about the general principle. People can find the bones and use them for necklaces.
Professor Stringer Christ (Christ Stringer) of the Natural History Museum in London, on the contrary, considers the opening of the French scientists is very important.
"The more obvious evidence is hard to find, but the findings indicate that Neanderthals lived in Europe at the same time as the people that they interact, and often were hostile to each other. This is not to say that people were trying to exterminate the Neanderthals or that they regularly ate their meat. But obviously, it was the fight with the people led to the disappearance of the Neanderthals, "- says Stringer.
Category: Mystery stories