martes, 29 de marzo de 2016

Were Neanderthals master tacticians?


Añadir leyendaThe researchers analysed several sites thought to be Neanderthal hunting grounds, including one where bison had been killed in Garonne France. Here it appears the Neanderthals drove the animals up against a limestone escaprment (illustrated) where they trampled each other in panic and were easier for the Neanderthals to kill

With their heavy, thickset bodies and slow-witted reputation, Neanderthals are thought to have been fairly cumbersome hunters.

But new forensic analysis of the hunting grounds where these prehistoric human relatives are known to have killed their prey has revealed they were in fact brilliant tacticians.

Researchers have found evidence that Neanderthal hunting parties used the landscape to give them the advantage over their fleet-footed prey.

This allowed them to slaughter large numbers of animals before then choosing to butcher only the best ones.

It contrasts sharply with the hunting tactics thought to have been employed by early modern humans from our own species, Homo sapiens.

Built for distance running, it is thought bands of Homo sapiens isolated and chased down individual prey until they tired enough to be killed.

Neanderthals, however, were much more heavily built than their Homo sapien cousins and are thought to have been far slower.

Instead, it appears they herded their prey, which were often large herbivores like reindeer, horses, rhinos and bison, into areas where they could easily ambush them.

Professor Mark White, a Palaeolithic archaeologist at Durham University told MailOnline that Neanderthals appeared to repeatedly use the same 'kill sites'. [...] Daily Mail Online

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