Neanderthals Ran Prehistoric ‘Fat Factories’ 125,000 Years Ago

Groundbreaking discoveries at the Neumark-Nord site in Germany reveal that Neanderthals engaged in complex resource management, processing large mammal bones for calorie-rich grease far earlier than previously understood, changing our understanding of early human behavior.

Complex Bone Processing Uncovered

Archaeological evidence from the Neumark-Nord 2 site, dating back 125,000 years, indicates that Neanderthals systematically crushed and heated bones from animals, extracting bone grease in a manner described as a prehistoric “fat factory.” Researchers, led by archaeologists from MONREPOS and Leiden University, found tens of thousands of bone fragments, demonstrating the intensive labor involved.

Strategic Resource Management

The study suggests Neanderthals carefully selected a lakeside location to process bones from at least 172 large mammals including deer, horses, and aurochs. This level of organized activity, previously attributed to later human groups, highlights the advanced planning capabilities of Neanderthals. According to the EPA, approximately 55% of municipal solid waste ends up in landfills (EPA.gov), suggesting that even today, organized waste management impacts ecological landscapes.

Decades of Discovery at Neumark-Nord

The Neumark-Nord site, initially discovered in the 1980s by Jena archaeologist **Dietrich Mania**, has been the subject of extensive research. Excavations from 2004 to 2009, led by teams from MONREPOS and Leiden University, involved a field school that trained over 175 international students.

Hunting and Landscape Management

A 2023 study revealed that Neanderthals hunted and butchered straight-tusked elephants, which could provide over 2,000 adult daily food portions. Furthermore, the use of fire to manage landscape vegetation and the diverse processing of species indicates a sophisticated understanding of their environment.

“What makes Neumark-Nord so exceptional is the preservation of an entire landscape, not just a single site,’ We see Neanderthals hunting and minimally butchering deer in one area, processing elephants intensively in another, and—as this study shows—rendering fat from hundreds of mammal skeletons in a centralized location. There’s even some evidence of plant use, which is rarely preserved. This broad range of behaviors in the same landscape gives us a much richer picture of their culture.”

—Wil Roebroeks, Leiden-based Author and Professor

Organized and Strategic Behavior

“This was intensive, organised, and strategic,” says the study’s first author, **Dr. Lutz Kindler**. “Neanderthals were clearly managing resources with precision—planning hunts, transporting carcasses, and rendering fat in a task-specific area. They understood both the nutritional value of fat and how to access it efficiently – most likely involving caching carcass parts at places in the landscape for later transport to and use at the grease rendering site.”

**Prof. Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser**, a co-author, adds, “Indeed, bone grease production requires a certain volume of bones to make this labour-intensive processing worthwhile and hence the more bones assembled, the more profitable it becomes.”

Reshaping Views on Neanderthal Life

The Neumark-Nord discoveries are revolutionizing our understanding of Neanderthal adaptability and survival strategies, demonstrating their capacity for advanced planning, efficient food processing, and sophisticated environmental utilization.

Impact on Herbivore Populations

Researchers emphasize the substantial number of herbivores that Neanderthals routinely harvested. The remains of at least 172 large mammals were processed at the site within a short period. Other sites in the wider area, such as Rabutz, Gröbern, and Taubach, also show evidence of regular exploitation of similar prey. The Taubach site contained cut-marked remains of 76 rhinos and 40 straight-tusked elephants.

**Roebroeks** suggests that these sites only represent a fraction of the overall impact Neanderthals had on herbivore populations during the Last Interglacial period, especially on slow-reproducing species.

Unique Site Preservation

“The sheer size and extraordinary preservation of the Neumark-Nord site complex gives us a unique chance to study how Neanderthals impacted their environment, both animal and plant life,” said **Dr. Fulco Scherjon**, data manager and computer scientist on the project. “That’s incredibly rare for a site this old—and it opens exciting new possibilities for future research.”