Early Human Dined on Young Neanderthal

May 21, 2009 -- Sometime between 28,000 and 30,000 years ago, an anatomically modern human in what is now France may have eaten a Neanderthal child and made a necklace out of its teeth, according to a new study that suggests Europe's first humans had a violent relationship with their muscular, big-headed hominid ancestors.

The evidence, which includes teeth and a carefully butchered jawbone from a site called Les Rois in southwestern France, could represent the world's first known biological proof for direct contact between the two human groups.

The research, published in the Journal of Anthropological Science, also adds to the growing body of evidence that Europe's first modern humans, who comprised the Aurignacian culture, used human bones and teeth for adornment and possible symbolic meaning.

"Four Aurignacian sites, including Les Rois, have yielded perforated human teeth, which confirms the interest in using human bone, and teeth in particular, by Aurignacians, for symbolic purposes," concluded Fernando Rozzi and his team, which also identified butchered reindeer bones excavated at the site.

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Cut marks on the reindeer bones likely produced by the humans' flint tools matched those found on the Neanderthal jawbone.

A recreation of ancient butchering techniques by the scientists indicates the marks "may have resulted from slicing through the geniohyoid muscle (a narrow muscle at the bottom of the oral cavity) to remove the tongue," according to Rozzi, a researcher at Paris's National Center for Scientific Research, and his colleagues.

Marrow from the bones appears to have also been consumed.

It remains unclear, however, if a modern human killed the Neanderthal youngster outright, or if the parts were scavenged from an already dead body.