Neanderthals seem to have聽placed special value on聽golden eagle聽talons, above those of other birds,聽based on聽a study聽of聽the frequency of聽different聽bird聽remains聽found聽in prehistoric human sites.
This suggests the claws聽had聽a聽symbolic value, adding聽to the growing evidence that Neanderthals聽had more聽sophisticated聽lives聽than we聽thought, says Clive Finlayson at聽The Gibraltar National Museum, whose group did the聽analysis.
When modern humans聽came聽to Europe聽forty聽thousand聽years ago, they聽overlapped聽with Neanderthals, our prehistoric cousins, for聽a few聽thousand years聽before Neanderthals went extinct. For a long time聽it was聽assumed we survived when they didn鈥檛 because we were聽smarter, but聽that聽has been challenged by recent聽finds聽of聽Neanderthal聽cave art聽and聽probable shell jewellery.
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Other finds include聽cut-marked聽bird talons and wing bones聽with feathers removed聽from many types of crows and birds of prey.聽Three talons from a white-tailed eagle were found in a Neanderthal聽site聽in Croatia, which have small matching notches suggesting they were strung on a necklace.
Not just food
Finlayson鈥檚 team noticed that聽cut-marked talons and bones聽were especially common from golden eagles, with nine such finds聽reported聽from Neanderthal聽caves.聽To聽see聽if this was just because golden eagles were more聽common聽at the time, they聽compared聽this聽figure聽with聽numbers of聽unmarked bones聽found in caves, for golden eagles, as well as other聽birds.
For most bird species, the number of cut-marked remains correlated with聽the general聽prevalence聽of their bones.聽But聽golden eagle聽talons聽stood out as being more likely to show聽marks from聽human聽intervention 鈥� as if they were聽preferred.
However, the number of聽cut-marked聽remains from each species was small. And golden eagles might have been聽hunted more聽simply because聽they nest on cliff ledges, which would have been close to聽Neanderthal聽caves.
But Finlayson says the fact that the hominins were聽not just hunting the birds for food聽is significant.聽鈥淚f you鈥檙e doing things with feathers and claws, it鈥檚 going beyond purely functional and there鈥檚 something symbolic there,鈥� says Finlayson.
He says the Neanderthals could have revered the bird like modern human cultures that used to catch golden eagles聽for their claws and feathers,聽by聽hiding a warrior in a straw-covered hole and placing a dead聽animal聽above聽as bait.
鈥淓verywhere there are historic examples of people using eagles, they were treated as a symbolic species,鈥澛爏ays聽David Frayer of the University of Kansas.聽鈥淣eanderthals weren鈥檛 treating eagles as meat, like they did crows but they were choosing them for talons and feathers. I think that鈥檚 a strong piece of evidence that Neanderthals had the same kinds of feelings about eagles as more recent people.鈥�
Quaternary Science Reviews
