PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Neanderthals hunted and butchered straight-tusked elephants, the largest terrestrial mammals of the Pleistocene, in a lake landscape on the North European plain, 125,000 years ago, as recently shown by a study of the Last Interglacial elephant assemblage from Neumark-Nord (Germany). With evidence for a remarkable focus on adult males and on their extended utilization, the data from this location are thus far without parallel in the archaeological record. Given their relevance for our knowledge of the Neanderthal niche, we investigated whether the Neumark-Nord subsistence practices were more than a local phenomenon, possibly determined by local characteristics. Analyzing elephant remains from two other Last Interglacial archaeological sites on the North European plain, Gröbern and Taubach, we identified in both assemblages similar butchering patterns as at Neumark-Nord, demonstrating that extended elephant exploitation was a widespread Neanderthal practice during the (early part of the) Last Interglacial. The substantial efforts needed to process these animals, weighing up to 13 metric tons, and the large amounts of food generated suggest that Neanderthals either had ways of storing vast amounts of meat and fat and/or temporarily aggregated in larger groups than commonly acknowledged. The data do not allow us to rule out one of the two explanations, and furthermore both factors, short-term larger group sizes as well as some form of food preservation, may have played a role. What the data do show is that exploitation of large straight-tusked elephants was a widespread and recurring phenomenon amongst Last Interglacial Neanderthals on the North European plain.
摘要：
尼安德特人猎杀直牙大象,更新世最大的陆生哺乳动物，在北欧平原的湖泊景观中，125,000年前,正如最近对Neumark-Nord（德国）的最后一次冰川间大象组合的研究所示。有证据表明，人们非常关注成年男性及其广泛的利用，到目前为止，这个位置的数据在考古记录中没有平行。鉴于它们与我们对尼安德特人生态位的了解有关，我们调查了诺马克-诺德的生存习俗是否不仅仅是一种当地现象，可能是由当地特点决定的。分析来自北欧平原上另外两个最后冰川间考古遗址的大象遗骸，格伦和陶巴赫,我们在两个组合中发现了与Neumark-Nord相似的屠宰模式，证明延长大象的开发是尼安德特人在（早期）最后间冰期期间的普遍做法。处理这些动物需要大量的努力，重达13公吨,和大量的食物产生表明，尼安德特人要么有办法储存大量的肉和脂肪和/或暂时聚集在更大的群体比一般公认的。数据不允许我们排除两种解释之一，此外，这两个因素，短期较大的群体规模以及某种形式的食物保存，可能发挥了作用。数据确实表明，在北欧平原的最后一个间冰期尼安德特人中，对大型直齿大象的剥削是一种普遍且反复出现的现象。
