Neanderthals had at least 172 large mammals’ skeletal system processing 125,000 years ago on a lake in Germany, operating what researchers call prehistoric “fat factories.”
The discovery of Neumark-Nord 2 fundamentally changes our understanding of Neanderthal food strategies, revealing complex resource management that predates similar behaviors in other human groups.
There is evidence that Neanderthals not only open open bones for the bone marrow, but also crush large amounts into thousands of pieces to make calories-rich bone oil by heating in water. This labor-intensive process requires careful planning, professional tools, and detailed knowledge of nutrition that challenges long-term assumptions about Neanderthal abilities.
Organized industrial scale processing
“It’s intensive, organized and strategic,” explained Dr. Lutz Kindler, the first author of the study. “The Neanderthals are obviously managing resources with precise resources – planning hunting, transporting corpses and growing fat in mission-specific fields.”
The website retains special evidence from this prehistoric industry. The researchers found more than 118,000 bone fragments, as well as 16,500 signs of flint tools, hammers and heavy use of fire. Most notably, two-thirds of aggregates are measured less than 3 cm, which is crucial for effective oil extraction.
Fat represents a vital resource of survival, especially for hunter-gatherers who rely on animal food. When humans consume too much protein without enough fat or carbohydrates, they risk “rabbit hunger” – a potentially fatal condition. During times when other fat sources are scarce, bone oil provides a calorie-intensive solution.
Evidence of strategic resource management
The scale of operation of Neumark-Nord is shocking. Analysis shows that bones are systematically processed from horses, deer, aurora and other large mammals. Key findings include:
- Selective shipping: Only fat bones are like skulls, with long bones and mandibles being brought to the processing site
- Professional Tools: Large anvil and 58 hammers specially designed for bone fragments
- Fire infrastructure: Evidence of heated bones, stones and abundant charcoal in controlled fires
- Seasonal Plan: Hunting animals throughout the year indicates the accumulation of resources in the system
Location itself is strategically chosen. Located on the edge of the lake, the site provides existing glacial sediment tools for boiling water, fuel and raw materials for fires.
Cache and storage systems
Perhaps most interestingly, researchers suggest that Neanderthals may be operating complex caching systems. In such a small area, there are concentrations of 172 large mammals that indicate bones are stored throughout the landscape and later transported to the processing site during intensive rendering.
“Indeed, bone oil production requires a certain amount of bones, making this labor-intensive processing worthwhile, so the more assembly and the more bones it becomes, the more profitable it becomes.”
Caches are crucial for hunter gatherers at the north latitude, who cannot survive without the stored food. Neumark-Nord lakes could have facilitated “poll storage”, a method that immerses the body in cold water for storage.
The impact of landscape size
The broader meaning is astonishing. Professor Wil Roebroeks observed: “What makes Neumark-Nord so outstanding is the preservation of the entire landscape, not just a website. We see Neanderthals hunting and minimal slaughtering of deer in one area, extensively processed in another area, extensively processed in another area, and this study shows that among the hundreds of breeding fats on mammal boats, is the fat in a central boat on a central boat.”
The evidence suggests that Neanderthal hunting may have a significant impact on herbivorous populations at the last time. In addition to the 172 animals at this single processing site, hundreds were slaughtered near nearby lakes, including 76 species of rhinos and 40 straight elephants.
The discovery presents bone oils to 125,000 years ago and recorded in the Upper Paleolithic location only 28,000 years ago. It shows that complex resource management, seasonal planning and industrial-scale food processing are part of Neanderthal culture, much earlier than previously known, revealing the complexity of cognition that can be compared with later human groups.
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