Cannibalism: Neanderthals Ate Their Own Kind And Used Bones As Tools

In a grisly discovery, scientists were able to piece recently discovered skeletons together to find that they formed five humans: four adults and a child, belonging to Neaderthals living in what is now known as Belgium, between 40,500 and 45,500 years ago.

Breaking new evidence of cannibalism among Neanderthals living in northern Europe between 40,500-45,500 years ago!https://t.co/y06bztCBHs

— Discovery (@Discovery) July 10, 2016

The discovery showed an "unambiguous evidence" of cannibalism between the species, with bones bearing unmistakable signs of butchery - with indentations where they were hammered open, cut marks left by knives, and a jumble nearby of the remains of horses and reindeer with the same cuts and bruises.

This, according to The Washington Post, suggests that hominins ate their own kind. Not only that, they also skin one another and slice through their bones - even to the point of extracting their bone marrows.

Researchers from the University of Tübingen in Germany said that in their study published in Scientific Reports, their team's complete analyses of the mitochondrial DNA of Neanderthals doubled as an existing genetic data on species that died out around 30,000 years ago.

Paleoanthropologists believed for decades that a burial is proof of a person's importance - if he is mourned, he is loved. However it seems that things were not always what they seemed, and scientists today stuck on describing what they knew of these discoveries: the bones and teeth from five Neanderthals lying in a cave in Belgium were found to have cut marks where they'd been hacked apart, or where flesh had been torn away, with their rib cages showing signs of being pried open. Some of the bones were also shown to have marks of "retouching," as if they'd been used to sharpen stone tools.

In other words - after these people were eaten - their bodies were also used as whetstone - just like the animals they were found with.