There were distinct patterns of cut marks, bone breakage in cooked vs. uncooked birds.

Archaeologists seeking to learn more about how Neanderthals prepared and cooked their food conducted a series of hands-on experiments with small fowl using flint flakes for butchering. They found that the flint flakes were surprisingly effective for butchering the birds, according to their new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology. They also concluded that roasting the birds damages the bones to such an extent that it’s unlikely they would be preserved in the archaeological record.

  • southsamurai@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    3·
    4 months ago

    Did they not bother to talk to any flint knappers that use their tools? Flint does great on small game. Not just birds, but birds in particular can be a bit delicate to work on, and smaller tools work well. Imo, flint or obsidian are better than steel for birds, and squirrels.

    I mean, I get that it’s a hands on, documentation thing, but people still use stone tools, even if it’s only for the hell of it.

    • acockworkorange@mander.xyzEnglish
      3·
      4 months ago

      They likely are some of the flint knappers, they just realized no one had published a rigorous scientific paper on it yet and got to work.