Scientists say turtle shells could hold clues to secret side of Neanderthal behavior

Cavemen hunted turtles — but not for food, new research suggests.

Scientists say thatshells of reptilescaught by children may have been used as ladles or digging devices by early humans over 100,000 years ago. 

Careful cleaning of fragments found at the Neumark-Nord archaeological site in Germany indicates that pond turtle shells were used as small containers or scoop-like implements, news agency SWNS reported.

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An international research team examined pieces of turtle shell — dating back some 125,000 years — discovered at the dig in what is now the Saxony-Anhalt region of Germany.

Using methods includinghigh-resolution 3D scanning, researchers found that many of the 92 fragments bear cut marks on their inner surfaces, indicating that the turtles were carefully butchered by Neanderthals — with limbs detached, internal organs removed and shells thoroughly cleaned.

Researchers believe the pond turtles were not used for food — as abundant high-yield prey meant there was likely a caloric surplus in the area.(iStock)

Study leader professor Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser said, “Our data providethe first evidencethat Neanderthals hunted and processed turtles north of the Alps, beyond the Mediterranean region.”

However, the team believe the turtles were not used as a food source.

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large, high-yield prey animalsat this site.There was in all likelihood a complete caloric surplus,” as SWNS noted.

A total of more than 100,000 animal bones or bone fragments have already been recovered at Neumark-Nord, including numerous bones from deer, cattle and horses, as well as from thelargest land mammalsof the time — the European straight-tusked elephant, which could weigh more than 10 tons. 

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“Pond turtles have a comparatively low nutritional value,” weighing roughly 2.2 pounds, said the study’s lead author.(iStock)

Gaudzinski-Windheuser said that “pond turtles have a comparatively low nutritional value,” weighing roughly 2.2 pounds.

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“However, they are relatively easy to catch and may therefore have been hunted by children.Their shells may then have been processed into tools.”

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She said it was also possible they were hunted for their taste or for an assumedmedicinal value— a suggestion supported by findings from studies of later Indigenous peoples.

“Our data provide the first evidence that Neanderthals hunted and processed turtles north of the Alps, beyond the Mediterranean region,” said the study’s lead author (not pictured).(iStock)

Gaudzinski-Windheuser added, “Our current results shed new light on the ecological flexibility andcomplex survival strategiesof Neanderthals, which went far beyond simple caloric maximization.”

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The new study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.It’s the latest in a series of ongoing scientific analyses of material from the former open-cast lignite mine at Neumark-Nord.