Neanderthals Feasted on Maggots Like Confections for Protein Source Regularly, Scientists Find Evidence
Despite decades of research, discoveries about Neanderthals continue to shock researchers. Recently, a team of researchers found some new details regarding the diet followed by Neanderthals, stated Ancient Origins. If these assertions are true, then it will force experts to reconsider a lot of their past beliefs regarding these extinct species.
For modern humans, maggots are a preposterous idea in food. Edible items with maggots are considered rotten and thrown away. Paleoanthropologist Leslie Aiello, former president of the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, claimed that this distaste was not shared by Neanderthals. Past examinations showcased that these extinct human species were 'super predators' who ate more meat than modern Homo sapiens. This assertion was made based on the presence of high levels of nitrogen-15 in the Neanderthal remains. The presence of elevated levels of nitrogen-15 typically indicates that an individual enjoyed a meat-heavy diet.
If the finding of maggots being a prominent part of the neanderthal diet is proven to be correct, then the high meat consumption theory will become dubious. Biological anthropologist Melanie Beasley of Purdue University speculated that rotten meat infested with maggots exhibited elevated nitrogen levels in comparison to fresh meat. The speculation was done after she studied a condition known as "rabbit starvation." This condition is a side effect of consuming high quantities of meat. She found that such side effects could sometimes prove to be fatal. To date, there has not been overwhelming evidence of this condition in Neanderthals. If they were 'super predator' as previously believed, they shouldn't have been able to possibly escape this condition.
Beasley came across a report published by archaeologist John Speth from the University of Michigan, where he detailed insights provided by certain Arctic explorers. These explorers claimed that some indigenous populations feasted on decayed, maggot-infested meat by choice and not because of a lack of other alternatives. This made Beasley theorize that the same practice was possibly observed by Neanderthals. To validate her theory, Beasley examined maggots from 34 human cadavers present in her University's facilities. She observed that as maggots attacked or decomposed the cadavers, the quantity of nitrogen 15 in these remains increased. The same pattern was observed when 389 fly larvae were observed, conducting decay on human remains. The findings indicated that the decomposition facilitated by maggots was directly proportional to the elevation of nitrogen.
This explains the nitrogen-15 content in Neanderthal human remains and also accounts for the lack of side effects in this species. "I think we should consider maggots as a regular food source for Neanderthals," Beasley asserted. The finding challenges the gender roles attributed to males and females in the neanderthal community. "One of the fundamental tenets of human evolution research [has been] the primacy of hunting, with men, not women, as hunters," said Biological anthropologist Sang-Hee Lee from the University of California, Riverside. "Melanie throws a wrench into this: Eating maggots can result in high nitrogen levels, too." Researchers in the past claimed that because food resources were primarily collected through hunting by Neanderthals, the task must be completed by men. However, if rotten meat was the choice for the community, these resources could have easily been accessed, even by women.