Neanderthals left an impact on their environment, having cleared part of a forest in Germany either through their fire use or tool production 125,000 years ago.
The conclusion was reached by archaeologists from Leiden University who examined Neumark-Nord an archaeological site about 20 miles west-of Leipzig.
Evidence from pollen deposits indicates the flora at the lakeside site changed from closed forest to open vegetation for some 2,000 years of Neanderthal occupation.
These findings highlight that humans were not the only members of Homo genus who had an important influence on their environment, according to the team.
Neanderthals left an impact on their environment, having cleared part of a forest in Germany — either through their fire use or tool production — 125,000 years ago. This documentary reconstruction shows Neanderthals at a lake using tools and fire.
Archaeologists from Leiden University came to this conclusion after studying an archeological site known as Neumark-Nord (20 miles west of Leipzig).
During the Eemian period (also known as the ‘Last Interglacial’ and which spanned from 130,000–115,000 years ago) the area around Leipzig was dotted with small lakes left behind after the retreat of the glaciers from the northern European plain.
Hominins also had the opportunity to leave behind the ice sheets, and excavations in Neumark-Nord have shown evidence of about 2,000 years worth of Neanderthal occupation.
In their study, Wil Roebroeks and colleagues analysed paleoenvironmental data including samples of pollen and charcoal from sediments at both Neumark-Nord and two similarly-aged former lakesides elsewhere in the eastern Harz mountains.
These sites — Gröbern and Grabschütz — are similar to Neumark-Nord, but have yielded only the slightest traces of former Neanderthal occupation in the form of a handful of stone artefacts at the former and 13 flint flakes at the latter.
The researchers found that the composition and proportion of pollen at these baseline sites were indicative of a closed, forested region, unlike at Neumark-Nord, where the data pointed to an environment characterised by open vegetation.
“Initially, a forest area. [Neumark-Nord] became open when Neanderthals arrived and stayed open for about 2,000 years,’ Professor Roebroeks explained to the Wall Street Journal, describing the forest clearing as a ‘hominin ecological footprint’.
According to the team, the vegetation at Neumark-Nord was initially dominated by birch and pines trees, but this soon gave in to much smaller plants as the hominins returned to the lakeside setting.
‘Upon their leaving, the forest closed in again,’ Professor Roebroeks added.
Because the sites were all in the same region, it was possible to exclude the possibility of other environmental factors such as temperature or precipitation differences.
Neumark-Nord was also found to have sediments with higher amounts of charcoal. This sign of fire matches previous findings of wood and burnt seeds.
The researchers believe that the Neanderthals activities — which would have included hunting, tool production, animal processing and building campfires — led to the deforestation of the lakeside at Neumark-Nord.
However, it is unclear if their intention was to create a new landscape.
This may contradict previous research that had considered the Last Interglacial to be a kind of reference period when the landscape was assumed to have been unaffected by human intervention.
In 1985, evidence of Neanderthal activity was found at Neumark-Nord. The site has since been subject to numerous excavations. The Wall Street Journal reported that Dr Roebroeks discovered ‘tens of thousands’ of stone artifacts on the site. [as pictured]There are hundreds of thousands upon hundreds of thousands bone fragments [and]The remains of hundreds of animals that were killed.
In their study, Wil Roebroeks and colleagues analysed paleoenvironmental data — including samples of pollen and charcoal — from sediments at both Neumark-Nord and two similarly-aged former lakesides elsewhere in the eastern Harz mountains. Pictured: spores of stoneworts, a type of algae, and the charred remains of seeds from the Neumark-Nord site
The researchers found that the composition and proportion of pollen at these baseline sites were indicative of a closed, forested region — unlike at Neumark-Nord, where the data pointed to an environment characterised by open vegetation. Pictured: the pollen (centre-left) and charcoal (centre-right) concentrations with depth in the sediments at Neumark-Nord
‘Modern humans today are impacting ecosystems on a global scale,’ University of Tübingen paleoanthropologist Katerina Harvati, who was not involved in the present study, told the Wall Street Journal.
The action is having severe consequences on biodiversity and habitats throughout the world, she said.
She said that the findings of this new study are pointing to an important impact of human activity on ecosystems, even for small groups of hunter-gatherer people, long before the advent of Homo sapiens.
Science Advances has published all of the findings.
The researchers believe that the Neanderthals activities — which would have included hunting, tool production, animal processing and building campfires — led to the deforestation of the lakeside at Neumark-Nord (pictured). It is not clear if they intended to open the landscape up or just a side effect of their lifestyle.