Overview
- The newly reported analysis focuses on 101 Neanderthal bone fragments from the troisième caverne at Goyet in Belgium, dated to roughly 45,500 to 40,500 years ago.
- Researchers identified at least six victims, including four adult or adolescent females and two children—one an infant—with skeletal traits indicating relatively small stature.
- Cut marks, fresh fractures, and bone-splitting consistent with marrow extraction show the remains were processed in ways typical of cannibalism.
- Genetic results paired with earlier isotope data indicate the individuals were non-local, supporting the idea that they may have been captured and brought to the cave.
- The authors discuss exokannibalism or starvation as possible drivers, and they note that the perpetrators remain unidentified and the remains could reflect a single episode or multiple events.