Uncovering Neanderthal Life: New Study Insights.
Researchers led by the University of Southampton analyzed chemical properties in tooth enamel to reconstruct the hunting habits and diets of Neanderthals and other prehistoric humans living in western Europe nearly 100,000 years ago. The study revealed that Neanderthals in the region hunted fairly large animals across vast expanses of land, while humans inhabiting the same area tens of thousands of years later relied on smaller creatures within a territory half the size. The team employed a technique that lasers samples of enamel and measures thousands of individual strontium isotope readings along the growth of a tooth crown.