Bear bones found in Germany suggest ancient humans skinned the animals for their fur at least 320,000 years ago, researchers say.
Throat and foot bones that once belonged to an extinct cave bear were discovered at the Upper Palaeolithic site of Schöningen in Lower Saxony.
The researchers found very thin cut marks on the bones that “provide early evidence of bearskin exploitation,” they say.
The skin would have helped hunters stay warm so they could survive the European Paleolithic winters.
For at least 300,000 years, humans have used bear skins to protect themselves from the cold. This is suggested by cut marks on the metatarsal (pictured) and phalanx of a cave bear discovered at the Upper Palaeolithic site of Schöningen in Lower Saxony, Germany
What was the cave bear?
The cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) is a prehistoric species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene.
The species became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the last glacial maximum.
The remains of more than 100,000 cave bears have been found in European cave deposits.
Cave bear remains have been found in England, Belgium, Germany, Russia, Spain, Italy and Greece, and the animal may have reached North Africa.
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica
The new study was led by experts from the University of Tübingen and the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment in Tübingen, Germany.
“The very thin cutting marks found on the Schöningen specimens indicate careful slaughter and show similarities in slaughter patterns to bears from other Paleolithic sites,” their publication reads.
The bones, which have been dated to 320,000 years, belonged to a cave bear (Ursus spelaeus).
This prehistoric bear species lived in Europe and Asia and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the last glacial maximum.
The species could grow to more than three meters long and weigh more than a ton during ice ages, although the cave bears at Schöningen would have been smaller in summer.
As omnivores and frequent cave dwellers, cave bears shared their environment with humans, and human-bear interactions would likely have occurred.
However, the accumulation of large masses of cave bear remains, sometimes found in “peculiar constellations” on the cave floor, has led to the interpretation that cave bears were actively hunted and worshiped as part of a cult.
It’s also likely that humans hunted cave bears for their meat; However, the location of the cuts on these particular specimens – the metatarsals (in the foot) and the phalanx (in the neck) – suggest that the bear’s skin was also removed.
The dissected bear metatarsus and toe joint from Schöningen “provide early evidence of bearskin exploitation,” the researchers say. Pictured is detail of the precise and fine incision marks on the cave bear’s metatarsus
The cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) is a species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene. The image shows an illustration of the species, which during ice ages could reach more than 10 feet long (3 meters) and weigh more than a ton
The examined bones were discovered at the Lower Paleolithic site of Schöningen in Lower Saxony, Germany
According to the study, the extinction of cave bears was likely due to large sinuses that interfered with chewing
According to a 2020 study, cave bears may have gone extinct because of their inability to chew meat due to their large sinuses.
A cool climate forced cave bears to evolve large paranasal sinuses — the air-filled spaces inside the skull bones — to allow better metabolic control during hibernation.
This evolution, in turn, changed the shape of cave bear skulls, possibly affecting their ability to chew, the authors said.
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The very thin cut marks found on the Schoeningen bear bones indicate a “delicate slaughter” that would have been necessary to remove the skin, the team says.
The throat and foot were unlikely to have been cut for meat, as there would not have been much meat on those body parts – suggesting the whole bear was valued as a valuable resource.
“In archeology, cut marks on bones are often interpreted as an indication of the use of meat,” says study author Ivo Verheijen.
“But you can hardly get meat from hand and foot bones.
“In this case, we can trace such fine and precise cut marks to carefully peeling off the skin.”
Researchers point out that the insulating properties of bearskins would have made them “an extremely valuable resource for surviving in the cold.”
A bear’s winter coat consists of both long outer hair, which forms an airy protective layer, and short, thick hair, which is particularly good at insulating.
The bear skin had to be removed shortly after the animal’s death, otherwise the hair and skin would have been damaged by weather and scavengers.
“Because the animal was skinned, it can’t have been dead long at that point,” Verheijen said.
Skeleton of a cave bear (Ursus spelaeus). It is likely that most cave bears died in the harsh glacial winters
An artist’s rendering of the European cave bear. Cave bear remains have been found in England, Belgium, Germany, Russia, Spain, Italy and Greece, and the animal may have reached North Africa
The team says that Schöningen likely played an important role in the emergence of active and specialized hunting of large mammals.
The oldest weapons documented in archaeological records were found in Schöningen – a set of 10 wooden javelins.
The so-called Schöningen spears could be used by hunters to kill animals up to 20 meters away, a 2019 study found.
“Schöningen plays a crucial role in the discussion about the origin of hunting because the oldest spears in the world were discovered here,” said Verheijen.
The new study was published in the Journal of Human Evolution.
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Schöninger spears were used to kill prey from up to 20 meters away
A set of 10 spears found in Germany, known as Schöningen spears, were used to kill prey from up to 20 meters away, scientists found.
The 2019 research combined a fragment of a surviving javelin with javelin-throwing athletes and found the projectiles to be more efficient than previously thought.
Experts originally assumed that ancient hunters used their crude wooden spears for stabbing and lunging rather than throwing.
Using exact replicas of Neanderthal spears dating back 300,000 years, spear throwers managed to hit a target up to 20 meters away.
This was twice the distance scientists had thought the “Schöningen” spears could be thrown.
In addition, the spears struck the target with sufficient force to kill prey.
The Schöningen spears are a set of 10 wooden Paleolithic javelins excavated between 1994 and 1999 in an opencast lignite mine in Schöningen, Germany, along with approximately 16,000 animal bones.
The Schöningen spears represent the oldest fully preserved hunting weapons from prehistoric Europe that have been discovered to date.