Social structure s for cave space. Intergroup movement may have been predominantly
patrilocal (male relationships as the basis of groups with females from other groups entering for breeding). Neanderthals maintained a low population across their range, which may have hindered their ability to maintain long-distance trade routes and to avoid
inbreeding. They may have regularly interacted with closely neighbouring communities within a region, but not so often beyond. Genetic analysis indicates there were at least three distinct geographical groups: Western Europe, the Mediterranean coast, and east of the Caucasus, with some migration among these regions. of the
Moravian Museum While the Cro-Magnons are usually assumed to have generally practised
sexual division of labour with men hunting and women gathering such as in the preponderance of recent hunter-gatherer societies, it is unclear to what extent this may be applied to Neanderthals. Both Neanderthal men and women have similar traumatic injury patterns, which might imply that both sexes were involved in hunting. Dental wearing patterns among Neanderthals, on the other hand, could indicate men and women typically carried different items with their mouths, though these may not have been related to subsistence tasks. The women at El Sidrón Cave, Spain, may have been eating more seeds and nuts than the men. The lack of distinctive task specialization in Neanderthals has usually been linked to their small population and group size, falling short of the demographic threshold where task specialization becomes feasible — which may also explain the comparative simplicity of Neanderthal material culture.
Food Though once thought of as
scavengers, Neanderthals are now considered
apex predators. They appear to have eaten predominantly what was abundant within their immediate surroundings, consequently consuming across their range a wide array of meats and plants, the relative proportion of which varied substantially geographically. Cro-Magnons, in contrast, seem to have maintained a more diverse diet even in settings where certain foods would have been harder to procure; for example, Neanderthals living in forests ate about the same proportion of foodplants as Cro-Magnons, but Neanderthals on open steppe (where foodplants are harder to find) ate far less foodplants. In many European sites, prey items include
red deer,
reindeer,
horse,
aurochs,
ibex, and
steppe bison.
Neanderthals in Southwest Asia more commonly hunted
mountain gazelle,
Persian fallow deer,
wild goat, and
camels. At the 125,000 year old Neumark-Nord site, Germany, there is evidence of regular hunting of
straight-tusked elephants maybe every 5 to 6 years. Some waterside communities ate fish and shellfish—and at
Vanguard Cave, Gibraltar—dolphin and
Mediterranean monk seal. Neanderthals also hunted small game, and some caves show evidence of regular rabbit and tortoise consumption. At Gibraltar sites, there are butchered remains of 143 different bird species, many ground-dwelling such as the
common quail,
corn crake,
woodlark, and
crested lark. Neanderthals also consumed a variety of plants and mushrooms across their range — at
Kebara Cave, Israel, over 50 species of seeds, nuts, fruits, and cereals. Neanderthals possibly employed a wide range of food preparation techniques. At Cueva del Sidrón, Spain, Neanderthals may have been
roasting and
smoking meat, and used certain plants—such as
yarrow and
camomile—for flavouring, although these plants may have instead been used for their medicinal properties. At
Gorham's Cave, Gibraltar, Neanderthals may have been roasting
pinecones to access
pine nuts, and at Gruta da Figueira Brava,
brown crabs to soften the shell before cracking them open. At
Grotte du Lazaret, France, a total of twenty-three red deer, six ibexes, three aurochs, and one
roe deer appear to have been hunted in a single autumn hunting season, when strong male and female deer herds would group together for
rut. It is possible these Neanderthals were
curing and storing all this meat before winter set in. Neanderthals at Neumark-Nord may have been
rendering fat from animal bones to offset
protein toxicity. Likewise, calcium measurements show that Neanderthals at Grotte du Bison frequently consumed bone. Neanderthals competed with several large carnivores, but also seem to have hunted them down, namely
cave lions and
wolves, as well as cave and
brown bear both in and out of
hibernation. Neanderthals and other predators may have sometimes avoided competition by pursuing different prey, namely with
cave hyenas and wolves (
niche differentiation). Neanderthals, nonetheless, were frequently victims of
animal attacks.
The arts talon jewellery from
Krapina, Croatia (arrows indicate cut marks) Neanderthals collected non-functional, uniquely-shaped objects, namely shells, fossils, and gems. It is unclear if these objects were simply picked up for their aesthetic qualities, or if some symbolic significance was applied to them. Some shells may have been painted. Gibraltarian palaeoanthropologists
Clive and
Geraldine Finlayson suggested that Neanderthals used various bird parts as artistic media, especially black feathers. There are several instances of nondescript engravings and scratches on flints, bones, pebbles, and stone slabs — , 63 purported engravings have been reported from 27 different European and Middle Eastern Lower-to-Middle Palaeolithic sites. It is debated if these were made with symbolic intent. Neanderthals may have produced
finger flutings on the walls of La Roche-Cotard over 57,000 years ago. Neanderthals used ochre, a
clay earth pigment. It is unclear if this constitutes evidence of artmaking because, while modern humans have used red ochre for decorative or symbolic colouration, they have also used ochre as medicine, hide tanning agent, food preservative, and insect repellent. The 43,000-year-old
Divje Babe flute (a cave bear
femur) from Slovenia has been attributed by some researchers to Neanderthals, though its status as a
Palaeolithic flute is heavily disputed. Many researchers consider it to be most likely the product of a carnivorous animal chewing the bone.
Technology point|alt=A thin, black triangular rock Neanderthals manufactured
Middle Palaeolithic stone tools, and are associated with the
Mousterian industry, specifically the
Levallois technique. After developing this technology from the
Acheulean industry, there is a 150,000 year stagnation in Neanderthal stone tool innovation. Stalled technological growth may have followed from their low population, impeding complex ideas from being spread across their range or passed down generationally. Neanderthals normally collected raw materials from a nearby source, no more than . and bone. They may have
hafted tips onto spears using
birch bark tar. European populations had also been manufacturing wood spears, namely the 400,000 year old British
Clacton Spear; 300,000 year old German
Schöningen spears; and 120,000 year old German
Lehringen Spear, including both likely thrown (Schöningen) and thrusting (Lehringen) types. It has been suggested that Neanderthals likely specifically selected particular wood types (such as
European yew in the case of the Clacton and Lehringen spears) for manufacturing spears for their beneficial material properties. A complex underground apparatus was used to distill birch tar from masses of bark, which suggests that a high degree of cultural innovation and evolution took place in the European
middle paleolithic period. Many Neanderthal sites have evidence of fire, some for extended periods of time. They may have been using fire for cooking, keeping warm, and deterring predators. They were also capable of zoning areas for specific activities, such as for knapping, butchering,
hearths, and wood storage. The only known Neanderthal tools that could have been used to fashion clothes are hide
scrapers as no bone sewing-needles and
stitching awls have been found as in Cro-Magnon sites. Hide scrapers could have been used to make items similar to blankets or
ponchos. There is no direct evidence that Neanderthals could make fitted clothes from animal hide. Unfitted clothes would have limited range of mobility while dressed, and decreased the time Neanderthals could spend unprotected from the elements away from shelters. Anterior
dental microwear of Neanderthals living in open environments is similar to that of the modern Ipiutak and Nunavut people, who are known to use their anterior teeth for clamping while preparing hides, suggesting that Neanderthals may have engaged in similar behaviour. Neanderthals appear to have lived lives of frequent traumatic injury and recovery, indicating the setting of
splints and dressing of major wounds. By and large, they appear to have avoided severe infections, indicating long-term treatment. Their knowledge of
medicinal plants was comparable to that of Cro-Magnons. Stone tools on various Greek islands could indicate early seafaring through the Mediterranean, employing simple reed boats for one-day crossings, but the evidence for such a big claim is limited.
Language It is unclear if Neanderthals had the capacity for complex language, but some researchers have argued that Neanderthals required complex communications to discuss locations, hunting and gathering, and tool-making techniques in order to survive in their harsh environment. In experiments with modern humans, the
Levallois technique can be taught with purely
observational learning without spoken instruction. While the
hyoid bone (a bone that supports the tongue) is almost identical to that of modern humans, this does not provide insight into the entire vocal tract. Neanderthals had the
FOXP2 gene, which is associated with speech and language development, but not the modern human variant.
Burials and religion Neanderthals, probably uncommonly, buried their dead. This may explain the abundance of fossil remains. The behaviour is not indicative of a religious belief of
life after death because it could also have had
non-symbolic motivations. but special care seems to have been given to child graves. The graves of children and infants, especially, are associated with grave goods such as artefacts and bones. Some sites with multiple well-preserved Neanderthal skeletons may represent
cemeteries. The medicinal properties of the plants led American archaeologist
Ralph Solecki to claim that the man buried was a leader, healer, or
shaman, and that "the association of flowers with Neanderthals adds a whole new dimension to our knowledge of his humanness, indicating that he had 'soul. It is also possible the pollen was deposited by a small burrowing rodent after the man's death. Neanderthals were once thought to have ritually killed and eaten cave bears or other Neanderthals, but the evidence is circumstantial. In 2019, the Finlaysons reported that Neanderthals disproportionately butchered the
golden eagle over any
bird of prey or
corvid species, and speculated that Neanderthals viewed the golden eagle as a symbol of power like some recent modern human societies did. ==Interbreeding==