Neanderthals systematically ate crabs. article about it published Frontiers in Environmental Archeology.
This was found while examining the Figueira Brava cave south of Lisbon. In addition to stone tools and charcoal, there were numerous crab shells, primarily large land crabs (cancer pagurus). Their size was estimated by the ratio of the diameter of the shell to the length of the claws, which were better preserved than other parts of the animal. Archaeologists assessed the nature of the shell rupture, looking for traces of butchery or impact, and determined whether the crabs were exposed to high temperatures.
As a result, Mariana Nabais of the Catalan Institute for Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution and her colleagues discovered that the crabs found were mostly large adults producing around 200g of meat. Studying the nature of the damage to the shells and claws, scientists came to the conclusion that neither mice, nor birds, nor other predators touched them. Because crabs are extremely difficult to catch, it is likely that Neanderthals did this by trying to catch animals with a shell width of about 16 centimeters at low tide.
In addition, Neanderthals not only collected crabs, but also fried them. Analysis of traces of fire on the shells showed that they were heated to about 300-500 degrees, which is typical for cooking on fire. “We have definitively disproved the outdated idea that Neanderthals were primitive cave dwellers who barely survived on the carcasses of large game animals,” the authors explain.
At the same time, archaeologists have no answer as to why Neanderthals ate so many crabs and whether crabs played an important role for them.
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