Neanderthals were a species of archaic humans that lived in Europe and Asia from around 400,000 to 40,000 years ago.
A study conducted by Emilie Berlioz of CNRS/Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès and colleagues, and published in the journal, has found that Neanderthals in Combe-Grenal, France, favored hunting in open environments and maintained this strategy despite periods of climatic change. This research was part of the ANR DeerPal project and provides valuable insight into the hunting habits of Neanderthals in this region.
Dental molds for dental microwear analysis, aiming at deciphering the paleoenvironments exploited by Neanderthal populations. Credit: Aurora Diaz Obregon,hunted by the Neanderthals to investigate whether these environmental shifts affected Neanderthal hunting strategies. This information is essential to understanding the influences of local environmental changes on material culture or human history. Further examination of similar data at other sites will allow researchers to investigate whether this trend holds true at different times and in different regions.