Were neanderthals meat-eaters? A new study provides the strongest evidence yet

Homo sapiens have given neanderthals have a bad rap. As the authors explain, large herbivores usually have higher proportions of zinc isotope ratios in their bones than carnivores, and this neanderthal's scores were "substantially lower than that of the lowest carnivore's value." "It does not mean indeed that they were carnivores anywhere," Klervia Jaouen, PhD, the corresponding author of the study and a scientist at France's Géosciences Environnement Toulouse at the Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, told Salon by email. By successfully using zinc isotopes to measure meat consumption among neanderthals, the researchers hope they have pioneered a new method for addressing questions about neanderthal diets. While pruud carnivores may rejoice in this news, Jaouen cautioned against over-simplifying the study's conclusion: Neanderthals may have preferred meat, but "as evidenced by dental calculus studies, neanderthals probably ate plants" as well.