How Neanderthal man went fishing for brain food

THEY are often characterised as uncivilised, brutish knuckle-draggers.

But it seems Neanderthals were actually good fishermen, with a taste for seafood.

It has often been suggested that Homo sapiens were the first to eat fish from the sea.

And the omega 3 − essential fatty acids that provide a number of health benefits − in seafood is so good for the brain that it has been credited with making mankind intelligent enough to leave the ‘cradle of humanity’ in Africa and spread through the world.

Now evidence from Portugal suggests Neanderthals also ate a wide variety of fish, along with crabs, mussels, seabirds and even seals. This brain-healthy diet could explain how Neanderthals were clever enough to make jewellery and create cave paintings.

Study co-author Dr Dirk Hoffman, from the University of Göttingen, said: ‘These findings suggest Neanderthals had a varied seafood diet. It appears Neanderthals were not just hunter-gatherers but sophisticated fisher-hunter-gatherers.’

The evidence of Neanderthals’ seafood diet was found in a cave called Figueira Brava, almost 20 miles south of Lisbon. It is now on the waterfront but was about a mile away from the sea at the time of the ancient humans.

Excavating sediment from 86,000 to 106,000 years ago, scientists found the remains of shark, eel, sea bream and mullet.

They also uncovered the wing bones of seabirds such as gannets and cormorants, along with the bones of dolphins and even remains from a ringed seal.

The study, in the journal Science, suggests Neanderthal man learned how to collect crabs and clams at low tide, while scavenging for seals, dolphins and waterfowl whenever they could.

The researchers believe that there is not further evidence of Neanderthals’ seafood diet because similar coastal sites in Europe have since flooded.