Over 250 Neanderthal Footprints Reveal Clues to the Ancient Humans' Social Lives

[Judi Lynn]

1. Ancient footprints show Neanderthals may have been taller than thought

HUMANS 9 September 2019
By Alison George

We know Neanderthals mated with us, painted on cave walls and may have used herbal medications. Now an analysis of the biggest tranche of Neanderthal footprints yet discovered offers a window into their lives.

The 257 fossil footprints were found in a coastal creek bed in Le Rozel in northern France. They were made around 80,000 years ago and preserved in sandy mud. Most of the footprints were from children and may show that Neanderthals could have been taller than previously thought.

“The discovery of so many Neanderthal footprints at one site is extraordinary,” says Isabelle de Groote at Liverpool John Moores University, who was not involved with the study.

Before this, only nine Neanderthal footprints were known, from 4 different sites, says Jérémy Duveau of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in France, who led the team that carried out the analysis. “Footprints are very interesting because they give a snapshot of a moment of life of hominins such as Neanderthals, and allow us to estimate the size and composition of the group that made them.” This kind of information is hard to obtain from other archaeological artefacts such as skeletons and tools.

Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2215803-ancient-footprints-show-neanderthals-may-have-been-taller-than-thought/#ixzz5zCmAJtoX

("Mated with us"?)

Speak for yourself.