Neanderthals were ‘sophisticated hunters’ who used wooden spears to stab their prey at close range.
As well as sharp stabbing and thrusting motions, our ancient cousins also used complex hunting techniques which involved groups of people.
Neanderthals would work together, under the cover of woodland, and ambush some of the huge beasts that roamed our planet in the distant past.
Experts made the discovery by scanning the remains of their prey, some of which dated back as far as 120,000 years ago.
Neanderthals had to work hard for their food, and scientists have discovered that they used sharpened wooden spears to stab and thrust at their prey. The seven foot (two metre) long spears were used by the primitive hominids as they hunted
‘When Neanderthals are depicted in artistic reconstructions, they often have a spear in hand,’ Annemieke Milks PhD candidate of Archaeology at UCL wrote inThe Conversation.
‘Most archaeologists believe that Neanderthals were adept hunters, and we have found spears at Neanderthal sites.
‘But our knowledge of how they used spears and how that compares with our own species has been inconclusive. Rather than using the spears for hunting,
‘Neanderthals could have used them for self-defence or scavenging. But it turns out they didn’t.’
Experts came to the conclusion that Neanderthals used spears to stab their prey thanks to a number of different archaeological finds.
That includes two large extinct fallow deer skeletons that were found around the shores of a small lake Neumark-Nord, near present day Halle in the eastern part of Germany.
They bore marks of Neanderthal weapons, which date to around 120,000 years ago researchers say.
The lesions on their remains had long remained a mystery, and Dr Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser, from the Institute of Ancient Studies at Mainz University, led a team of researchers hoping to recreate these marks on modern day fallow-dear carcasses.
By doing so, they hoped to shed light on exactly how Neanderthal hunters used their weapons.
Dr Gaudzinski-Windheuser and colleagues used microscopic imaging techniques, slow-motion imagery and and ballistic testing to analyse the simulated hunt.
They found that it was likely that Neanderthals approached animals very closely and thrust, rather than threw, their spears at the animals, most likely from an underhand angle.
Spears have previously been discovered in both Germany and England that date back 300,000 to 400,000-years.
Two large-sized extinct fallow deer skeletons (top), that were found around the shores of a small lake Neumark-Nord, near present day Halle in the eastern part of Germany, bore marks of Neanderthal weapons (bottom) that measured up to seven feet (two metres) long
The lesions on the fallow remains (pictured) come from Neanderthals approaching animals very closely and thrusting, not throwing, their spears at the animals, most likely from an underhand angle
Dr Gaudzinski-Windheuser told MailOnline: ‘Pleistocene wooden spears or fragments of them have been found at only three sites.
‘The oldest fragment of a wooden tip comes from Clacton and is 400,000 years old.
‘At the German site of Schöningen, nine wooden spears have been found on a paleo-lake shore dating back 300,000 years and finally at Lehringen (Germany), a wooden lance was unearthed amidst the carcass of a straight tusked elephant.’
This comprehensive evidence of wooden spears being used by Neanderthals was never explicitly linked to marks on ancient skeletal remains, as evidence of hunting damage on both prey species and spears is rarely preserved.
Comprehensive evidence of wooden spears being used by Neanderthals was never explicitly linked to marks on ancient skeletal remains, as evidence of hunting damage on both prey species and spears is rarely preserved. This image shows a lesion caused by weaponry
As a result, archaeologists have only been able to speculate as to exactly how the wooden spears were used – until now.
Dr Gaudzinski-Windheuser said: ‘The study from Neumark-Nord provides the first direct indication as to how these hunts were undertaken, as it demonstrates close-range hunting.
‘Close-range hunting is risky, needs cover, a group of hunters and very close cooperation between the members of the group.’
This evidence adds to the belief that these early human ancestors were highly-skilled huntsmen.
‘Zooarchaeological evidence provides indications for mass hunts where entire reindeer herds were extinguished,’ Dr Gaudzinski-Windheuser added.
‘We see seasonal exploitation of the strongest individuals within bison herds by ambushing, or we see ambushing young rhinos which are still with their mothers, or regular confrontational killings of cave bears.’
Scientists used microscopic imaging techniques, slow-motion imagery and and ballistic testing to analyse the simulated hunt and recreate its affect on the bone of prey (pictured)
Whilst this study provides the first evidence of how Neanderthals may have hunted, it may not be the only way.
In an associated new and views article, Dr Annemieke Milks from the institute of archaeology at University College London points out that other methods may have been used.
She claims that just because deer at Neumark-Nord were hunted with close-range spears does not rule out the possibility that Neanderthals may have also hunted with longer-range throwing spears.
Dr Gaudzinski-Windhauser agrees with this suggestion.
She said: ‘There is a debate if lithic (stone) projectiles have been used for hunting.
‘But again, we do not have direct evidence that tools supposed to represent projectiles actually were projectiles and we lack direct evidence for composite tools, as these projectiles must have been hafted on a wooden spear or a lance – so I do not believe that either.’
The academic goes one step further, suggesting the methods of hunting could have been even more elaborate.
‘They might have used traps but we have absolutely no indication that they actually did,’ Dr Gaudzinski-Windhauser adds.
Whilst the evidence was found on giant fallow deer, it is thought Neanderthals tackled a variety of prehistoric prey.
‘Their large prey included the large Pleistocene carnivores, it included all large herbivores as well as Mega faun,’ Dr Gaudzinski-Windheuser adds.
The research was published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.