Latest news with #NeumarkNord
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Announce Major Neanderthal 'Fat Factory'
A team of archaeologists has announced a major finding relating to the Neanderthals. They announced the finding in the journal Science Advances. The scientists announced that they had discovered a "fat factory" at the edge of a German lake where they believe Neanderthals processed mammals for food 125,000 years ago. "We present archaeological data from the lake landscape of Neumark-Nord (Germany), where Last Interglacial Neanderthals processed at least 172 large mammals at a water's edge site," they wrote. "Their (partial) carcasses were transported to this location for the extraction of within-bone nutrients, particularly bone grease. This 'fat factory' constitutes a well-documented case of grease rendering predating the Upper Paleolithic, with the special task location devoted to extraction of nutritionally important lipids forming an important addition to our knowledge of Neanderthal adaptations," they added. According to the researchers, "These hunter-gatherers, similar to recent foragers, already focused heavily on the exploitation of within-bone nutrients—and particularly on bone grease—125,000 years ago." The time period in question was "an interglacial period when temperatures were similar to those of today," according to a news release on the findings issued by Universiteit Leiden. "At this location, researchers found that Neanderthals not only broke bones to extract marrow but also crushed large mammal bones into tens of thousands of fragments to render calorie-rich bone grease through heating them in water," the release says. "This discovery substantially shifts our understanding of Neanderthal food strategies, pushing the timeline for this kind of complex, labour-intensive resource management back in time tens of thousands of years." The researchers explained the importance of studying diet. "Diet played a key role in human evolution, making the study of past diet and subsistence strategies a crucial research topic within paleoanthropology," they wrote in the July 2 article. "Lipids are a crucial resource for hunter-gatherers, especially for foragers whose diet is based heavily on animal foods. Recent foragers have expended substantial amounts of energy to obtain this resource, including time-consuming production of bone grease, a resource intensification practice thus far only documented for Upper Paleolithic populations," they Announce Major Neanderthal 'Fat Factory' first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 10, 2025
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Inside the prehistoric 'fat factory'
New research shows Neanderthals may have been even more food savvy than we first thought. Archaeologists have already found out that they would break open animal bones to get out the fatty marrow which is packed full of calories. Now new research from MONREPOS in Germany and Leiden University in the Netherlands found Neanderthals not only broke open bones, but also constructed a prehistoric 'fat factory'. Researchers used to think this sort of behaviour started later in human ancestors, but the new findings suggest it could've been part of Neanderthal behaviour too. The evidence of the 'fat factory' was found at a site in Germany called Neumark-Nord which dates back to around 125,000 years ago when the temperatures were similar to what we experience today. It was here where researchers found evidence that large mammal bones had been crushed and heated in water to made a rich bone grease. Prof. Wil Roebroeks who worked on the study said: "What makes Neumark-Nord so exceptional is the preservation of an entire landscape, not just a single site." That gives archaeologists an even better insight into how Neanderthals used to live all those years ago. "We see Neanderthals hunting and minimally butchering deer in one area, processing elephants intensively in another, and—as this study shows—rendering fat from hundreds of mammal skeletons in a centralized location. "There's even some evidence of plant use, which is rarely preserved. This broad range of behaviours in the same landscape gives us a much richer picture of their culture," he added. Although you might hear people saying to avoid fat in our modern day diets, it's a nutritionally important food group. It's full of calories which give people energy and it helps absorption of important vitamins. In a time where food might be hard to come by, filling up on fat was especially important as a source of energy. Dr. Lutz Kindler, another researcher on the project said this new study shows Neanderthals "understood both the nutritional value of fat and how to access it efficiently."
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Neanderthals had ‘factories' up and running 125,000 years ago
Neanderthals living 125,000 years ago may have mass-produced grease from animal bones in 'factories', a study has found. They may have been rendering fat from crushed animal bones in the Neumark-Nord region in central Germany, according to archaeological research, published in Science Advances. While many bones that contained less marrow were spread out across the archaeological site, researchers observed that many of the marrow-rich bones were located in clusters – sites they call 'fat factories'. The process required careful planning, specialised tools and detailed knowledge of nutrition. Its use challenges long-held assumptions about Neanderthal capabilities, the study, commissioned at Leiden University in The Netherlands, found. Prof Wil Roebroeks, the study's co-author said: 'This attitude that Neanderthals were dumb – this is another data point that proves otherwise.' Dr Lutz Kindler, the study's first author, added: 'Neanderthals were clearly managing resources with precision – planning hunts, transporting carcasses and rendering fat in a task-specific area.' Prior to this finding, the earliest evidence of this kind of fat rendering dated back to only 28,000 years ago, thousands of years after Neanderthals disappeared from the fossil record. The Neumark-Nord 2/2B site was excavated through year-round campaigns from 2004 to 2009. Researchers found more than 118,000 bone fragments alongside 16,500 flint tools, hammerstones and abundant signs of fire use. Two thirds of the bone material measured smaller than 3cm – the tiny fragments used for grease extraction. Like humans, fat was a crucial survival resource for Neanderthals particularly for hunter-gatherers dependent on animal foods, and bone grease provided a calorie-dense solution during periods when other fat sources became scarce. Analysis also found that they had built fires, with evidence of heating bones, stones and charcoal from controlled fires. The Neanderthals had positioned themselves on the edge of a lake, which would have given them direct access to water, the study found. Researchers have also proposed that Neanderthals may have operated sophisticated caching systems. Caching was essential for northern latitude hunter-gatherers, who could not survive without stored foods. The concentration of 172 large mammals in such a small area suggests bones were stored across the landscape and later transported to the processing site during intensive rendering periods. Prof Sabine Gaudzinksi-Windheuser, the co-author of the study, said: 'Indeed, bone grease production requires a certain volume of bones to make this labour-intensive processing worthwhile and hence the more bones assembled, the more profitable it becomes.' The study found that the Neumark-Nord lakes could have facilitated 'pond storage' – a method where carcasses were submerged in cold water for preservation. Prof Roebroeks said: 'What makes Neumark-Nord so exceptional is the preservation of an entire landscape, not just a single site. 'We see Neanderthals hunting and minimally butchering deer in one area, processing elephants intensively in another, and – as this study shows – rendering fat from hundreds of mammal skeletons in a centralised location.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
06-07-2025
- Science
- Telegraph
Neanderthals had ‘factories' up and running 125,000 years ago
Neanderthals living 125,000 years ago may have mass-produced grease from animal bones in 'factories', a study has found. They may have been rendering fat from crushed animal bones in the Neumark-Nord region in central Germany, according to archaeological research, published in Science Advances. While many bones that contained less marrow were spread out across the archaeological site, researchers observed that many of the marrow-rich bones were located in clusters – sites they call 'fat factories'. The process required careful planning, specialised tools and detailed knowledge of nutrition. Its use challenges long-held assumptions about Neanderthal capabilities, the study, commissioned at Leiden University in The Netherlands, found. Prof Wil Roebroeks, the study's co-author said: 'This attitude that Neanderthals were dumb – this is another data point that proves otherwise.' Dr Lutz Kindler, the study's first author, added: 'Neanderthals were clearly managing resources with precision – planning hunts, transporting carcasses and rendering fat in a task-specific area.' Prior to this finding, the earliest evidence of this kind of fat rendering dated back to only 28,000 years ago, thousands of years after Neanderthals disappeared from the fossil record.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Ancient Neanderthal 'Fat Factory' Reveals How Advanced They Really Were
The Neanderthals are our closest extinct relatives, and they continue to fascinate as we peer back through tens of thousands of years of history. In a new discovery about this mysterious yet often familiar species, researchers have found ancient evidence of a Neanderthal "fat factory" in what is now Germany. Operational around 125,000 years ago, the factory would've been a place where Neanderthals broke and crushed the bones of large mammals to extract valuable bone marrow and grease, used as a valuable extra food source. Related: According to scientists, this is the earliest evidence yet for this type of sophisticated, large-scale bone processing, including both bone marrow and grease: the first confirmation Neanderthals were also doing this some 100,000 years before our species made it to Europe. "This was intensive, organised, and strategic," says archaeologist Lutz Kindler from the MONREPOS Archaeological Research Center in Germany. "Neanderthals were clearly managing resources with precision – planning hunts, transporting carcasses, and rendering fat in a task-specific area. They understood both the nutritional value of fat and how to access it efficiently – most likely involving caching carcass parts at places in the landscape for later transport to and use at the grease rendering site." The researchers found their evidence on a site called Neumark-Nord in eastern Germany, not far from the city of Halle. They uncovered more than 100,000 bone fragments from what are thought to be at least 172 large mammals, including horses and deer. A good proportion of the bones showed cut marks and signs of intentional breakage, pointing to deliberate butchering – these weren't just leftovers from a hunt. There were also indications of tool use and fires in the same location, all in a relatively small area. Add all of that together, and it seems clear that some kind of systematic, organized bone processing was going on here. Similar processes have been linked to Neanderthal sites before, but not at this level of scale or sophistication. "Bone grease production requires a certain volume of bones to make this labour-intensive processing worthwhile and hence the more bones assembled, the more profitable it becomes," says archaeologist Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser from MONREPOS. We can add this to the long list of studies that have revealed Neanderthals were much smarter than they're often made out to be. Thanks to recent research we know they were adept swimmers, capable brewers, and abstract thinkers – who raised their kids and used speech patterns in a similar way to humans. Ultimately though, Homo sapiens thrived and survived, while Neanderthals died out. That's another story that archaeologists are busy investigating the whys and wherefores of, but all we have of the Neanderthals now are the remains and the sites they left behind – which will no doubt give up more revelations in the future. "The sheer size and extraordinary preservation of the Neumark-Nord site complex gives us a unique chance to study how Neanderthals impacted their environment, both animal and plant life," says computer scientist Fulco Scherjon from MONREPOS. "That's incredibly rare for a site this old – and it opens exciting new possibilities for future research." The research has been published in Science Advances. US Teen Drivers Admit to Looking at Their Phones For 21% of Every Trip Oldest Egyptian DNA Reveals Secrets of Elite Potter From Pyramid Era Zapping Volunteers' Brains With Electricity Boosted Their Maths Skills
