A 48,000-year-old lion skeleton found in a cave in modern-day Germany has provided researchers with new evidence of early predator hunting by hominids, according to new evidence outlined in a study published by Scientific Reports<\/a> Thursday. The same study reports potential evidence of hominids turning cave lion skins into pelts based on new analysis of different, much older remains. These findings represent the earliest known proof that Neanderthals were effective hunters of large carnivores rather than just scavengers trying to avoid them.<\/p>\n A skeleton of a cave lion with a significant puncture wound in its rib was discovered in 1985 near Siegsdorf in southeastern Germany, at the foot of the Bavarian Alps. The puncture wound and surrounding cracks are located on the interior side of the rib, indicating that a spear likely struck it from the inside after passing through the lion\u2019s vitals. Other \u201clesions,\u201d probably the result of butchering, mark other bones. <\/p>\n \u201cThe hunting lesions include a partial puncture and possible drag marks,\u201d the study reads. \u201cThe partial puncture was observed on the [rear] side \u2026 of rib III \u2026 It is oval-shaped in outline, exhibits circumferential and radial cracking on the impact \u2026 side, and lacks an exit wound.\u201d<\/p>\n Researchers determined the wound must have occurred while the lion was alive, and that it was probably fatal (there were no signs of healing). There\u2019s a possibility the hunters thrust the spear into the lion while it was lying down. This technique would have mirrored other spear-hunting techniques used around this time on hibernating cave bears, where hunters would sneak up behind a sleeping or hibernating animal and drive the spear into the animal\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n \u201cAlternatively, the lethal thrust could have occurred after the lion was disadvantaged in some way, potentially by being injured from previous impacts, a strategy also observed amongst contemporary spear hunter,\u201d reads the study.<\/p>\n The researchers reconstructed the ballistics based on the impact angle of the puncture wound, and determined the lion was probably lying down when it received the fatal blow. The mark is wider and deeper than tooth marks tend to be on carnivore-killed carcasses, indicating that it wasn\u2019t the work of a competing predator.<\/p>\n \u201cPits and perforations formed as a result of the pressure of carnivores\u2019 teeth on the bone surface often leave bite marks impressions on both sides of the damaged skeletal element,\u201d the study says. \u201cHowever, there no impression on the rib of the Siegsdorf lion matching the partial puncture. Thus, it is unlikely that a carnivore was the causal agent of the partial puncture.\u201d<\/p>\n Other research<\/a> has shown that Neanderthals fell victim to the teeth of lions and that the two species competed for cave space and prey. Neanderthals likely scavenged meat from big cat kills, and vice versa. But this latest discovery adds a new layer of complexity to the intertwined relationship.<\/p>\n \u201cDirect evidence of large predator kills is exceptionally scarce in the archaeological record,\u201d the study reads. \u201cHunting lesions provide some of the clearest evidence that an animal was actively killed by humans, rather than being accessed shortly after a natural death or acquired through confrontational scavenging. The new evidence from Siegsdorf presented here is the earliest instance of cave lion hunting with wooden spears.\u201d<\/p>\n The same study shares information from different cave lion remains found in 2019 in Einhornh\u00f6hle, also known as the Unicorn Cave, near Herzberg am Harz, Germany. These 190,000-year-old remains are much scarcer and smaller pieces that likely came from a cave lion paw. But a mysterious lack of other remains in the area indicated that the phalanges were carried there from a different location.<\/p>\n Most instances of small remains that have been removed from full carcasses have evidence of being worn as decorations or jewelry, the study explains. But these ones didn\u2019t. <\/p>\n \u201cThe absence of polish, wear, perforations, or any distinctive features associated with pendants or clothing components in the lion claws from Einhornh\u00f6hle sets them apart from examples found in the archaeological and ethnographic record, suggesting their unlikely use as such,\u201d the study says. \u201cIn contrast, we propose that the lion phalanges found in the interior of Einhornh\u00f6hle offer the earliest evidence of the utilization of a cave lion pelt.\u201d<\/p>\n Researchers estimate that the cave lion carcass was skinned outside of the cave and only the paws, likely still attached to the skin, were brought inside before eventually being abandoned\u2014for 200,000 years, at least. Cutmarks on the toes indicate the hominids were slicing tendons to separate the claw from the paw, \u201crepresenting intentional processing of the fur and an advanced anatomical knowledge of the claw.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWhile scavenging remains a plausible hypothesis,\u201d reads the study, \u201cwe argue that the pelt being collected from a fresh kill is more likely.\u201d<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve never heard of a cave lion before, you probably aren\u2019t alone. Remains from these ancient big cats<\/a> have popped up all over the Eurasian landmass, and even as far east as Alaska and as far south as Los Angeles. <\/p>\n Read Next<\/strong>: Archaeologists Discover Ancient Arrows and Hunting Blinds as Glaciers Melt in Norway<\/a><\/p>\n Cave paintings in modern-day France display realistic imagery of the species, remains of which are bigger than sabertooth tigers. They are considered a distinct species from modern-day lions and likely died out in an extinction event<\/a> at the end of the late Pleistocene, some 12,000 years ago. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"puncture](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/10\/13\/cave_lion_puncture_wound.jpeg\")
Turning Lion Hides into Pelts<\/h2>\n
All About Cave Lions<\/h2>\n
![\"cave](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/10\/13\/GettyImages-1244081303.jpg\")