Defleshed remains hint at cannibalism

Neanderthals ate a varied diet, ranging from nuts, berries, game and in some cases, their Neanderthal relatives. A team of French and US archaeologists has discovered convincing evidence of neanderthal cann ibalism in a cave in France's Ardeche region. The 100,000 to 120,000-year-old bones from two adults, two teens and two youths show clear signs of being defleshed, the researchers write in . The hungry neanderthals then broke the bones apart with a hammerstone to remove the marrow and brains. The bones were strewn among other "game", including deer. "If we conclude that the animal remains are the leftovers from a meal, we're obliged to expand that conclusion to include humans," it said.