Dataset Information

Considered Absent: A first inventory of prehistoric human remains from the Scheldt basin, Belgium

ABSTRACT: Throughout prehistory, human groups inhabited the Scheldt basin in northern Belgium, though few prehistoric human remains have been found there compared to the Meuse basin, where many caves contain human remains from various prehistoric phases. The limited preservation in the Scheldt basin is due to the region's high soil acidity, decalcification, and dryness, which degrade bones. The oldest known human bone is a clavicle dated to around 5790 years ago. Until recently, little effort had been made to identify human remains in the Scheldt basin. However, a recent survey identified four additional sites with prehistoric human remains. The paper aims to document these findings and explore their radiocarbon dates to better understand the region’s occupation history. The scarcity of remains before the Neolithic is attributed to taphonomic factors, and the lack of Late Neolithic remains might indicate a population decline, though flint mines and Meuse basin burials suggest otherwise. Another possibility is a shift in burial practices, with collective burials in megaliths or caves becoming common in western Europe during this time, unsuitable for the wet floodplains of the Scheldt basin. Most of the human bones discovered in the Scheldt basin were found in secondary contexts, likely displaced by fluvial activity. The bones were retrieved from former river channels and gullies, complicating interpretations of whether they originated from primary graves or were part of secondary burial practices. The absence of defleshing marks suggests the bones were not part of secondary burial rites, pointing instead to the erosion of primary graves from earlier settlements. The presence of settlement debris, including pottery and stone tools, supports this theory

INSTRUMENT(S):

ORGANISM(S): Homo Sapiens (human)

TISSUE(S): Bone

SUBMITTER: BRAY FABRICE

LAB HEAD: fabrice bray

PROVIDER: PXD056419 | Pride | 2026-04-07

REPOSITORIES: Pride

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Source:

			Action	DRS
	2B-RICH-35317.raw	Raw
	2B-RICH-35317_0_B13_000002.mzXML	Mzxml
	3B-RICH-35319.raw	Raw
	3B-RICH-35319_0_D13_000002.mzXML	Mzxml
	Identification-LCMSMS.xlsx	Xlsx

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Project description:For a long time, Neanderthals were considered hunters of large mammals, whereas the diversification of the exploited faunal spectrum to include smaller taxa, including birds, was assumed to be specific to anatomically modern humans. In recent decades, archaeozoological analyses of faunal remains from layers associated with Middle Palaeolithic lithic industries have revealed traces of human manipulation of small taxa, indicating the exploitation of a wider range of animals than previously thought, including small or fast-moving animals such as molluscs, leporids and birds. These new data have challenged the view that Neanderthals did not exploit small animals, thereby narrowing the behavioral gap with anatomically modern humans. Nevertheless, the information currently available comes almost exclusively from southern Europe and the nature of Neanderthal small fauna exploitation in northern Europe remains largely unknown. The present study aims to fill this gap by applying archaeozoological methods, including detailed taphonomic and traceological analyses, to 118 bird remains recovered from levels containing Middle Palaeolithic industries at Scladina cave, southern Belgium. Analyses of proteomics were applied to clarify the taxonomic identity of two morphologically non-diagnostic elements. Compared to mammal remains, bird bones, most of which belong to the order Galliformes, are scarce at Scladina Cave. This is likely due to conservation bias. Traces of non-human predators or scavengers, suggest that mammalian carnivores are responsible for accumulating a considerable portion of the avian assemblage. In total, seven bird bones exhibit anthropogenic traces, and one element presents questionable traces. Various Galliformes and a cormorant were exploited likely for their meat, during MIS 5 and/or 6 and MIS 6. The terminal posterior phalanx (talon) of a raptor of the size of a pomarine eagle displays intense polishing that could be linked to human manipulation of this element (MIS 5 and/or 6), although in the absence of tool marks this remains hypothetical at this stage. On the radius of a Western capercaillie, two deep incisions may indicate bone working, and intense use-wear on one of the fractured ends indicates that the bone has been utilized, potentially on soft organic material (MIS 6). This study provides the first evidence of the exploitation of birds during the Middle Palaeolithic in Belgium and constitutes the only detailed archaeozoological analysis of bird material in northwestern Europe. The likely transformation and use of a bird bone is only the second example recovered from Neanderthal occupations. The novel taxa identified as Neanderthal prey highlight the plasticity of Neanderthal ecological behavior, adapting to different landscapes and climates and exploiting the full spectrum of locally available prey.

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Considered Absent: A first inventory of prehistoric human remains from the Scheldt basin, Belgium

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