Identification of new Neandertal remains at Goyet and their biogeochemical characterization 
 
 The reanalysis of the Goyet material comprised (i) the revision of the human skeletal material, (ii) systematic sorting of the faunal collections to check for unidentified human remains (Supplementary Fig. S2), and (iii) a multidisciplinary study of the human remains and their context. Two-hundred and eighty three human remains were identified from different periods, including 96 bone specimens and three isolated teeth identifiable as Neandertal (Supplementary Table S1 and Supplementary Notes S3, S4 and S5). A good number (n = 47) of the bone specimens refit, reducing the total number of isolated Neandertal remains to 64 (Fig. 1 and Supplementary Table S2), of which 10 were directly radiocarbon (14C) dated, 15 were sampled for stable isotope analyses, and 10 for DNA extraction (Table 1 and Supplementary Table S3). Based on their morphology and morphometric characteristics, developmental stage and side for paired elements, as well as the successful recovery of endogenous mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences, the minimum number of individuals (MNI) represented by the Goyet sample is estimated at five (four adolescents/adults and one child represented by a single tooth; Supplementary Note S5 and Supplementary Fig. S3). Although the Neandertal sample includes cranial and postcranial elements (Fig. 1), with long bones best represented and extremities mostly absent, the minimum number of elements (MNE = 35) demonstrates a very low overall skeletal representation. The best represented elements are, in decreasing order, the tibia (six of the eight tibias expected for four adolescents/adults, 75% representation), femur and cranium (50%), humerus and mandible (25%; Supplementary Table S4). 
 
 Figure 1: Neandertal remains from the Troisième caverne of Goyet (Belgium). *Designates the specimens that have been directly dated. Scale = 3 cm. Full size image 
 
 Table 1: Sample information and results of the 14C and genetic analyses of the Neandertal remains from Goyet. Full size table 
 
 Chemical elemental analyses performed together with stable isotope analyses were used to assess collagen preservation in preparation of 14C dating (see Methods). The ecology of the Goyet Neandertals was also investigated using δ13C and δ15N isotope composition of bone collagen28. Direct 14C dates obtained from the newly identified skeletal material place the Goyet Neandertals to ca. 40.5–45.5 ky calBP. However, when the youngest ages, which likely reflect undetected bone collagen contamination, are excluded (Supplementary Note S6), we cannot rule out the possibility that the Goyet Neandertals represent a single chronological group dating to ca. 44–45.5 ky calBP. Although this appears the most parsimonious hypothesis when individual bone associations, taphonomic aspects and similar anthropogenic modifications observed across the sample are taken into account, we retain the conservative range of ca. 40.5–45.5 ky calBP for the Goyet Neandertals in the absence of definitive evidence. 
 
 Out of the 10 samples processed for genetic analysis, seven show three distinct complete or almost complete mtDNA lineages (noted 1–3 in Table 1). The newly reconstructed mtDNAs from Goyet were compared with the mtDNA of 54 modern humans, eight previously sequenced Neandertals and one Denisovan individual29,30,31,32,33,34. Phylogenetic relationships were assessed using maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood trees (Fig. 2 and Supplementary Fig. S4), confirming the analysed specimens to fall within the known diversity of Neandertal mtDNA. The Goyet Neandertal mtDNAs appear most closely related to late Neandertal mtDNAs from Central and Western Europe, such as those from the Neandertal type-site (Germany), El Sidrón (Spain) and Vindija (Croatia), which all show only modest genetic variation despite large geographic distances when compared to modern humans. As previously suggested31, this might reflect a low effective population size of Neandertals in general, and for the late Neandertals in particular. 
 
 Figure 2: Maximum parsimony tree for the seven analysed Goyet samples that produced complete or almost complete mitochondrial genomes compared to 63 published modern human, Neandertal and Denisovan mtDNAs. Numbers at the main branch nodes represent bootstrap values after 1,000 iterations. Full size image 
 
 Taphonomic analysis of the Goyet Neandertal material and anthropogenic modifications 
 
 Overall, the Neandertal remains are highly fragmented. Forty-nine percent of the bone specimens (47 out of 96) were refit to at least one other, with the number of specimens per refit set ranging from 2 to 8 (tibia I; Supplementary Fig. S5). Several examples of refits between levels 1 through 3 were also identified. None of the Neandertal bones are complete, although the proximal extremity of a hand phalanx (2878–37) is only slightly eroded (Fig. 1). Cortical surfaces are well preserved and exhibit limited post-depositional modifications. Most long bones fractures involve green breaks, as indicated by smooth margins and spiral fractures35. Traces of peeling may also provide evidence for the fresh bone fracture of a cranial fragment and several ribs (ref. 11; Supplementary Fig. S6). Although bears can produce such traces36, the presence of cutmarks on several ribs (see below) suggests that the most parsimonious hypothesis is that they are anthropogenic. Traces of human chewing37,38 are also suspected on the Neandertal phalanges but are inconclusive (Supplementary Fig. S6). The numerous unambiguous anthropogenic marks on the Goyet Neandertal remains can be attributed to three categories of bone surface modifications (Figs 3, 4, 5, Table 2, and Supplementary Figs S7 and S8): 
 
 Cutmarks. Nearly a third of the Neandertal specimens bear cutmarks. The locations of the limited number of cutmarks observed on the upper limb may indicate disarticulation whereas those on the lower limb are consistent with defleshing. Several cutmarks on the internal and external surfaces of the ribs may be connected to evisceration, dismemberment of the thoracic cage and removal of the thoracic muscles. An additional cutmark on the medial side of the mandible, close to the mandibular condyle, appears consistent with dismemberment. Two types of percussion marks (notches and pits) were identified. Observed only on a single radius alongside several femurs and tibias, notches are likely connected to the fracturing of fresh diaphyses and marrow extraction. Percussion pits are common and probably indicate failed attempts at fracturing bones. Both percussion notches and pits were also identified on eight bones (e.g. femur I, Fig. 5). Retouching marks. These marks, found on a femur and three tibias (Supplementary Figs S9–S12), result from retouching the edges of stone tools. The fact that none of the affected areas overlap on adjacent fragments suggests the bones to probably have first been marrow cracked. Femur III shows two retouching zones on the anterior and postero-medial surfaces, both located at mid-shaft. Interestingly, the traces found on the tibias are located in the same areas of the shaft on all three bones (posterior or postero-medial surface at mid-shaft). The retouchers are made on four different Neandertal bones that represent at least three of the four adolescent/adult Neandertal individuals (Supplementary Note S5). 
 
 Figure 3: Overview of the anthropogenic modifications observed on the Neandertal remains from the Troisième caverne of Goyet (Belgium). See Supplementary Fig. S8 for individual Neandertal bones with anthropogenic modifications. Skeleton diagrams modified from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Human_skeleton_front_en.svg and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Human_skeleton_back_en.svg using Adobe Illustrator CS4 v. 14.0.0. Full size image 
 
 Figure 4: Retouching marks (b1,b2) and cutmarks (c1,c2) present on the Goyet Neandertal bones (example of femur III). (a) femur III in anterior view; (b1,c1) close-up photos; (b2,c2) images obtained using a minidome (see Methods). Full size image 
 
 Figure 5: Percussion pits (b1,b2) and percussion notch (c1,c2) present on the Goyet Neandertal bones (example of femur I). (a) femur I in posterior view; (b1,c1) close-up photos; (b2,c2) images obtained using a minidome (see Methods). Full size image 
 
 Table 2: Numbers and proportions of Neandertal, horse, reindeer and carnivore remains bearing anthropogenic modifications and toothmarks in the Goyet assemblage. Full size table 
 
 While animal bone retouchers are common in European Middle Palaeolithic contexts (e.g., refs 39, 40, 41), Goyet is one of only four sites (Krapina in Croatia42, La Quina and Les Pradelles in France43,16) to have yielded retouchers on Neandertal skeletal elements and the sole to have produced multiple examples (Table 3). At Krapina and Les Pradelles, femur shaft fragments were used as retouchers, whereas the La Quina example is on a parietal fragment. According to the criteria proposed by Mallye et al.40, the blanks used for the Goyet retouchers made on Neandertal bones were most likely green due to the absence of scaled areas, and in addition, two of the five retoucher areas exhibit concentrated and superposed marks which imply prolonged use. The rectilinear morphology of the marks also supports the use of the bones for retouching flint flakes, the most common raw material found at Goyet. 
 
 Table 3: Description of the Neandertal bone retouchers from Goyet using the criteria of Mallye et al. 40 and Daujeard et al. 41. Full size table 
 
 Comparative taphonomic analysis of the fauna from the Troisième caverne 
 
 Due to the large size of the Goyet faunal collection (>30,000 specimens), only a sample from Dupont’s excavation was examined (see Methods; Supplementary Fig. S2 and Supplementary Table S5). The skeletal material analysed corresponds mostly to long bone shaft fragments from various species that were mixed together within the collection and did not appear to have been previously sorted. We focused on remains from levels 3 and 2, which yielded the Neandertal remains, and on material from the same storage trays containing the human remains in order to have an overview of the associated faunal spectrum and assess food procurement and management strategies. Horse and reindeer are by far the most frequent species in the studied assemblage (86% of the 1,556 identified specimens; Supplementary Table S5). No rodent toothmarks were observed, carnivore remains are relatively sparse and carnivore damage is extremely rare on the Neandertal, horse and reindeer remains (Table 2), indicating carnivores to have had limited access to the bone material. 
 
 Anatomical profiles reveal numerous similarities between the Neandertal sample on one hand and horse and reindeer on the other (Supplementary Table S6 and Supplementary Fig. S13). The tibia is the most abundant element of all three species, whereas the axial skeleton and extremities of the forelimb and hindlimb are poorly represented. Bones of the hindlimb are better represented for all three species compared to forelimb elements, this is especially the case with the Neandertal material. The only notable difference between the faunal and Neandertal remains is the high representation of cranial elements for the latter. Unfortunately, the absence of contextual data precludes an analysis of the spatial distribution of both the faunal and Neandertal remains within the Troisième caverne. 
 
 The most intensely processed Neandertal elements are femurs and tibias (Supplementary Fig. S7), which are also the bones with the highest nutritional content (meat and marrow). The same pattern was documented for horse and reindeer bones. Overall, anthropogenic marks on the Neandertal remains match those most commonly recorded on the faunal material (Supplementary Figs S14–S16). All three taxa were intensively exploited, exhibiting evidence of skinning, filleting, disarticulation and marrow extraction. However, the Neandertal remains stand out as they show a high number of percussion pits (Table 2), which may be linked to the thick cortical structure of Neandertal long bones. Although the Neandertal remains show no traces of burning, the possibility that they may have been roasted or boiled cannot be excluded. The high number of cutmarks and the fact that DNA could be successfully extracted are, however, inconsistent with this possibility44,45,46. Lastly, similar to what has been noted at other sites40,41,47, the Neandertal retouchers are made on fragments of dense bones with comparable mechanical properties to the horse and reindeer bones. At Goyet, as at several French Middle Palaeolithic sites, large bone fragments of medium and large-sized animals were selected40,41,48,49,50,51. Among the Goyet Neandertal material, the largest and thickest fragments were also selected, as was the case at Les Pradelles16 and Krapina42. Interestingly, a femur and tibias of cave bears were also among the retoucher blanks selected by Neandertals at Scladina52. 
 
 The observed patterns of faunal exploitation can be interpreted as the selective transport of meat and marrow rich elements to the site that were subsequently intensively processed. However, this apparent pattern may reflect a collection bias favoring the largest and most easily identifiable fragments. Similarities in anthropogenic marks observed on the Neandertal, horse and reindeer bones do, however, suggest similar processing and consumption patterns for all three species. ||||| Members of human subspecies also appear to have fashioned tools out of bones of their own kind, researchers say 
 
 Belgian Neanderthals were eating each other 40,000 years ago, new research has shown. 
 
 The grisly discovery was made in a cave where scientists found bones bearing marks left by intentional butchering. 
 
 Not only were they cannibals, but the Neanderthals appear to have fashioned tools out of the bones of their own kind. 
 
 Neanderthals were a human subspecies that lived in Europe and western Asia for hundreds of thousands of years before becoming extinct between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago. 
 
 Their disappearance followed the arrival of Homo sapiens, ancestors of people living today, from Africa. Evidence shows that the two kinds of humans interbred, and up to 4% of the DNA of modern Europeans and Asians is believed to have been inherited from Neanderthals. 
 
 The bones uncovered from the Goyet caves near Namur in Belgium bore cut marks, pits and notches signifying butchery, said researchers writing in the journal Scientific Reports. 
 
 It appears to have been a thorough process. There is evidence of skinning, cutting up, and extraction of bone marrow. Lead scientist Prof Hervé Bocherens, from the University of Tübingen in Germany, said: “These indications allow us to assume that the Neanderthals practised cannibalism. The many remains of horses and reindeer found in Goyet were processed the same way.” 
 
 Other hints of Neanderthal cannibalism have emerged previously in Spain and France. Four bones from Goyet clearly suggest that Neanderthals also used the remains of their deceased as tools. 
 
 One thighbone and three shinbones were used to shape stone implements. In a similar way, animal bones were often used as knapping tools. ||||| News 
 
 06.07.2016 15:31 
 
 Cannibalism among late Neandertals in northern Europe 
 
 Tübingen researchers in international team uncover grisly evidence that Neandertals butchered their own kind some 40,000 years ago 
 
 These Neandertal bone fragments from the Troisième caverne came from at least five individuals. Fragments marked with a star were dated 40,500 - 45,500 years old. Scale shown = 3cm. Photo: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. 
 
 Neandertal bones from an excavation in Belgium have yielded evidence of intentional butchering. The findings, from the Goyet caves near Namur, are the first evidence of cannibalism among Neandertals north of the Alps. The skeletal remains were radiocarbon-dated to an age of around 40,500 to 45,500 years. Remarkably, this group of late Neandertals also used the bones of their kind as tools, which were used to shape other tools of stone. 
 
 Professors Hervé Bocherens and Johannes Krause of Tübingen’s Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, along with Cosimo Posth and Christoph Wissing, also of the University of Tübingen, took part in the investigations. A review of the finds from the Troisième caverne of Goyet combined results from various disciplines; it identified 99 previously uncertain bone fragments as Neandertal bones. That means Goyet has yielded the greatest amount of Neandertal remains north of the Alps. 
 
 By making a complete analysis of the mitochondrial DNA of ten Neandertals, the researchers doubled the existing genetic data on this species of humans which died out some 30,000 years ago. They confirmed earlier studies’ results, which showed relatively little genetic variation in late European Neandertals - in other words, that they were closely related to one another. The findings have been published in the latest Scientific Reports. 
 
 The Troisième caverne of Goyet was excavated nearly 150 years ago. Today, researchers are able to extract vast amounts of information using current methods - such as precise digital measurement and categorization of the bones, examination of the conditions in which the bone fragments were preserved, as well as isotopic and genetic analysis. 
 
 Some Neandertal remains from Goyet have been worked by human hands, as evidenced by cut marks, pits and notches. The researchers see this as an indication that the bodies from which they came were butchered. This appears to have been done thoroughly; the remains indicate processes of skinning, cutting up, and extraction of the bone marrow. “These indications allow us to assume that Neandertals practised cannibalism,” says Hervé Bocherens. But he adds that it is impossible to say whether the remains were butchered as part of some symbolic act, or whether the butchering was carried out simply for food. “The many remains of horses and reindeer found in Goyet were processed the same way,” Bocherens says. Researchers have long debated the evidence of cannibalism among Neandertals, which until now focused on the sites of El Sidrón and Zafarraya in Spain and two French sites, Moula-Guercy and Les Pradelles. The Troisième caverne of Goyet is the first example of this phenomenon from more northern parts of Europe. 
 
 Four bones from Goyet clearly indicate that Neandertals used their deceased relatives’ bones as tools; one thigh bone and three shinbones were used to shape stone tools. Animal bones were frequently used as knapping tools. “That Neandertal bones were used for this purpose - that’s something we had seen at very few sites, and nowhere as frequently as in Goyet,” Bocherens says. 
 
 The new findings open up many possibilities regarding the way late Neandertals dealt with their dead in this last period before they died out. Bocherens says none of the other Neandertal sites in the region have yielded indications that the dead were dealt with as they were in Goyet. On the contrary, they have yielded burials. Researchers say that, in addition, other northern European Neandertal sites had a greater variety and various arsenals of stone tools. “The big differences in the behavior of these people on the one hand, and the close genetic relationship between late European Neandertals on the other, raise many questions about the social lives and exchange between various groups,” says Bocherens. 
 
 Publication: 
 
 Rougier, H., Crevecoeur, I., Beauval, C., Posth, C., Flas, D., Wißing, C., Furtwängler, A., Germonpré, M., Gómez-Olivencia, A., Semal, P., van der Plicht, J., Bocherens, H. & Krause, J., 2016. Neandertal cannibalism and Neandertal bones used as tools in Northern Europe. Scientific Reports 6: 29005; doi: 10.1038/srep29005. 
 
 
 
 The entrance to the Troisième caverne, Belgium. An international team of researchers has identified butchered remains of Neandertals from the cave, indicating cannibalism. The cave was excavated nearly 150 years ago. Photo: Préhistomuseum de Ramioul, © A. C. Pottier. Archaeozoologist Cédric Beauval of Archéosphère (left), palaeoanthropologist Hélène Rougier from California State University Northridge (center) and Isabelle Crevecoeur of the University of Bordeaux (right) identify human remains in the collection of finds from the Goyet caves. Photo: Damien Flas 
 
 
 
 Various categories of human action upon the Neandertal bones of Goyet: Femur I (left) shows pits and a notch caused by striking, and femur II shows scratches indicative of butchering. Femur III has marks on it consistent with its having been used to knapp stone tools. Scale shown = 1cm 
 
 Photo: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. 
 
 
 
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 antje.karbe[at]uni-tuebingen.de ||||| TüBINGEN, Netherlands, July 6 (UPI) -- Neanderthal bones found in Belgium show signs of intentional butchering, evidence the human ancestors consumed their own. 
 
 Unearthed from the Goyet caves near Namur, Belgium, the bones are the first evidence of Neanderthal cannibalism north of the Alps. 
 
 The discovery was made possible by the largest haul of Neanderthal bones north of the Alps. Researchers with the University of Tübingen excavated 99 bones and bone fragments, dated between 40,500 to 45,500 years old. 
 
 Cuts, notches and marks offer evidence of the butchering process. Some bones showed signs of skinning, slicing and marrow extraction. 
 
 "These indications allow us to assume that Neanderthals practiced cannibalism," Hervé Bocherens, a professor at Tübingen's Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, said in a news release. "The many remains of horses and reindeer found in Goyet were processed the same way." 
 
 In addition to revealing signs of butchering, the remains featured Neanderthal bones fashioned into tools. 
 
 DNA samples were collected from the remains and analyzed, doubling the amount of late Neanderthal genetic data. Their analysis shows late Neanderthals had limited genetic diversity and were increasingly interrelated as they approached extinction some 30,000 years ago. Such findings are in line with previous DNA studies. 
 
 No other groups of European Neanderthals in the region have revealed signs of cannibalism, and several excavated communities have revealed signs of burials. Other digs have yielded more sophisticated arsenals of stone tools. 
 
 "The big differences in the behavior of these people on the one hand, and the close genetic relationship between late European Neandertals on the other, raise many questions about the social lives and exchange between various groups," concluded Bocherens. 
 
 The findings are detailed in a new paper, published this week in the journal Scientific Reports.
– Neanderthals appear to have had quite the appetite for, well, one another, at least according to findings by researchers at the University of Tübingen in Germany. Reporting in the journal Scientific Reports, they say that an analysis of 99 new Neanderthal remains from a cavern in Belgium that date back roughly 40,000 to 45,000 years "provide unambiguous evidence of Neanderthal cannibalism in Northern Europe." What's more, they add that in the period immediately before they died out, there was "considerable diversity in mortuary behavior." In other words, for reasons that can only be guessed, Neanderthals of the not-too-distant past skinned one another, sliced into their bones, and even extracted bone marrow, reports UPI. The team's complete analysis of the mitochondrial DNA of 10 Neanderthals doubles the existing genetic data on a species that died out around 30,000 years ago and confirms previous research suggesting that, due to the low genetic variation, late European Neanderthals were closely related. The Guardian, which calls the latest finding of intentional butchery "grisly," notes that Neanderthal cannibalism has also been suspected in findings in Spain and France, while four bones have suggested that Neanderthals at the very least used the remains of deceased brethren as tools. (Perhaps Neanderthals were tasty; after all, we modern humans may have hunted and eaten them into extinction.)