Carnivore conflicts gnaw at Neandertals.Neandertals came into close, perhaps deadly, contact with hyenas that hunted or scavenged the same prey as they did, a new study suggests. Neandertals and hyenas competed for prey and for protected spots to consume food, Erik Trinkaus Erik Trinkaus, PhD, (December 24, 1948) is a prominent paleoanthropologist and expert on Neanderthal biology and human evolution. Trinkaus researches the evolution of the genus Homo sapiens of Washington University in St. Louis “Washington University” redirects here. For other uses, see Washington (disambiguation). Washington University in St. Louis is a private, coeducational, research university located in St. Louis, Missouri. and his coworkers contend in the May 17 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, usually referred to as PNAS, is the official journal of the United States National Academy of Sciences. . They base their argument on a 2002 discovery of a Neandertal leg bone in a French cave that the researchers say served primarily as a prehistoric pre·his·tor·ic also pre·his·tor·i·cal adj. 1. Of, relating to, or belonging to the era before recorded history. 2. Of or relating to a language before it is first recorded in writing. hyena den. Bones of ancient horses and bison at the site show marks made by both hyena teeth and stone tools. The Neandertal leg bone also appears to have been gnawed on by hyenas. The individual represented by that bone was either prey or scavenged after death, the scientists propose.--B.S. |
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