Turtles in the Neanderthal diet

Researchers have confirmed the presence of two species of freshwater tortoises (Emys orbicularis and Mauremys leprosa) and one land tortoise (Testudinidae indet) at a Middle Paleolithic archaeological site at Mealhada, in Coimbra, Portugal.

The results allow us to affirm for the first time for this site possible evidence of the consumption of turtles by groups of Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis).

The study was carried out by researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) and the National Distance Education University (UNED), in Spain.

For the Iberian Peninsula, the consumption of tortoises by Neanderthals during the Middle Paleolithic has been widely demonstrated. The capture of small prey – birds, rabbits, hares and even crabs – has proven that the Neanderthals had a diet based not only on large prey (large mammals), but also intensively exploited all available resources in the environment.

“This complex behavior reveals an adaptation to the local ecosystem of the settlements that were traditionally only associated with Homo Sapiens,” explains Iratxe Boneta Jiménez, a member of the Prehistory of the Peninsular Interior research group at the UAM and co-author of the study.

“In this sense -adds the researcher- the results of our work provide further evidence, including with these results tortoiseshells in the list of small prey consumed by Neanderthals.”

Turtle of one of the species to which part of the fossil remains investigated in the study belong. (Photo: Boneta et al. (2023))

Tortoises are easily captured prey that do not require a large investment of time and effort. In fact, this can be done while hunting and gathering other food, or even by children.

In addition, turtles not only offer an important amount of nutrients, but also provide a versatile raw material, the shell. On the contrary, the capture of tortoises requires a certain technology or investment of time and effort, since they inhabit stagnant waters or low currents, being very elusive in the face of any threat.

In this regard, the documentation of evidence of anthropic consumption on the archaeological remains of the Mealhada site offers novel evidence that informs about the complexity of Neanderthal behavior.

“The turtle remains studied come from excavations carried out at the end of the 19th century at the Mealhada site (Coimbra, Portugal), one of the first archaeological sites discovered in Portugal thanks to the discovery of elephant remains (Elephas antiquus) and dated in about 122,000 years ago”, details Corina Liesau von Lettow-Vorbeck, also co-author of the study and member of the UAM research group.

“The turtles -he adds- were analyzed first hand at the Lisbon Geological Museum, where an archaeozoological, systematic and taphonomic study of the remains was carried out. In this way, we identified the three commented taxa and documented the processing marks, fractures, fleshing incisions and evidence of combustion, details that inform us about the preparation of the specimens”.

“Documented tracks indicate that the turtles were placed upside down over the coals, serving their own shell as a roasting pan. Later, their shells were fractured to access the interior and be consumed”, concludes the researcher.

The study is titled “Chelonians from the Middle Palaeolithic Site of Mealhada (Coimbra, Portugal): An Update”. And it has been published in the academic journal Diversity. (Source: UAM)