The Role of Cannibalism in the Hastened Extinction of Neandertals
Among other reasons, their taste for human flesh caused Neandertals' extinction.
The rise of the human species can be traced back to 800,000 years. Homo heidelbergensis, who lived in Africa and Europe, are the common ancestors of Neandertals, Homo sapiens (us), Denisovans, and many other kinds.
According to the geneticists, Neandertals and Homo sapiens shared common ancestors, but they evolved on different lines and adopted a separate identity about 588,000 years ago.
Homo Sapiens inhabited Africa, while Neandertals made Asia and Europe their primary habitat. Anthropologists described Homo sapiens skeletons as gracile, which means they were thin, tall, and quick in their movements.
They described Neandertals as short, robust, and stocky. They lived in Parts of Western Europe and Asia till their extinction about 30,000 years ago. However, various experts proposed various theories for their extinctions, such as wars with Homo sapiens, inadaptability with climate change, and their own demographics incompatibility.
However, various anthropologists further say that it was not the war between the two human species; but the competition for the resources that led to the extinction of the Neandertals. Homo sapiens were more capable of taking maximum benefits from the changing environment than Neandertals. (Wynn, Coolidge, and Overmann, 2016).
Research on the role of cannibalism in Neadertals' extinction
Xavier Rubio-Campillo and Jordi Augustí, Spanish anthropologists, carried out virtual research in 2016 to find out the underlying causes of the Neadertals' extinctions.
Their experimental model showed the size of the Neadertals' homes where they collected resources. But, surprisingly, it also showed they practised cannibalism to eliminate competition.
According to their experiment, they presented that Neandertals practised endocannibalism and exocannibalism. Endocannibalism means when a group eats its members, while exocannibalism eats other groups' members.
When they faced starvation, they would eat the very young or very old to provide sustenance for the working and reproductive group.
They also practised endocannibalism as a religious ritual. Eating the dead body of the group members was a sort of showing reverence to their dead.
In contrast, they used exocannibalism to eliminate competition and gather additional resources needed for life. They also practised it to frighten away other groups members.
Other anthropologists such as Rubio-Campillo and Augusti found that Neadartals used cannibalism only to overcome the scarcity of resources. They would rarely do endocannibalism and practice it in the face of starvation in extremely cold weather conditions.
Still, they would first favour exocannibalism because it would provide them with additional resources such as food, articles of clothing, and shelter. This would also reduce competition.
The Spanish anthropologists believe modern human beings entered Europe some 40,000 years ago. The invaders were non-cannibalistic and decided to remove the cannibalistic humans from the resource-rich region.
This struggle resulted in the exclusion of Neandertals, and they were sent to isolated and arid regions where had gone into extinction.
Now, one can ask the question that did Neandertals eat Homo Sapiens?
The model also answered this. The interesting fact is that Neandertals practised exocannibalism on other Neandertal groups only. This practice might have benefited a single group or individual, but it was against the benefits of their whole Neandertals species. And this brought about their extinction.
The fascinating evidence of prevalent cannibalism in Neandertals
Hélène Rougier, a California anthropologist, and her group examined 99 Neandertal remains found in a cave in Goyet, Belgium.
According to their reports, these remains belonged to the era of 40,000 t0 45,000 years ago. During their analysis, they found obvious evidence for cannibalism among Neandertals.
Their data showed that roughly one-third of the bones bore the visible marks of cut and percussion marks such as pits and notches. These bones were also used for sharpening as the defleshing tools to deflesh the bodies easily. The researchers also found bones of animals such as horses, reindeer, and other big animals.
Another review of other researches showed the same results. They found that these remains showed that cannibalism among Neandertals lasted from 120,000 to 39,000 years ago. The bones also bore the same cut and were processed similarly. They also split the bones into two to get the marrow from the bones, which are rich in nutrition.
Now, one can ask another question too. If there were plentiful animals, why did Neandertals practice cannibalism then?
The anthropologist found out during their research that Neandertals ate animals and consumed non-meat resources such as plants and seeds. They estimate cannibalism among Neandertals started around 120,000 years ago, and maybe they started it to gain more resources; because they might have faced extreme environmental changes.
Nevertheless, it might have started some 80,000 years as gustatory cannibalism in Neandertals. This is because some Neandertals enjoyed eating the flesh of other Neandertals, and maybe they got a taste of their meat.
But other theories suggest that it might have started independently out of revenge. Maybe Neandertals ate the flesh of their enemies as a satisfaction for their ego. But studies suggest that cannibalism was passed down in Neandertals through generation as a tradition.
A theory suggests that they might not have stopped this tradition because they had lesser abilities to differentiate between smells. According to firefighters, they couldn't smell the burning human flesh; that is the most pungent smell and unbearable.
Whatever the reasons for the extinction of our closest human cousins were, it will always remain an unresolved mystery. But this research is not useless because they threw light on various other aspects of human abilities, such as the importance of smell, brain function, and living together in a society of the Homo sapiens. It also predicts the human future that such an act can surely replace the Homo sapiens.
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References
Agustí, J., & Rubio-Campillo, X. (2017). Were Neanderthals responsible for their own extinction?
Rougier, H., Crevecoeur, I., Beauval, C., Posth, C., Flas, D., Wißing, C., … & Van Der Plicht, J. (2016). Neandertal cannibalism and Neandertal bones used as tools in Northern Europe. Scientific Reports
Wynn, T., Overmann, K. A., & Coolidge, F. L. (2016). The false dichotomy: A refutation of the Neandertal indistinguishability claim.
