In a discovery that reshapes our understanding of Neanderthal intelligence and survival strategies, researchers have unearthed the earliest known evidence of large-scale bone grease rendering-a practice that pushed the nutritional exploitation of carcasses to its limits. At the Neumark-Nord 2 site in central Germany, Neanderthals 125,000 years ago systematically processed the bones of at least 172 large mammals, including deer, horses, and aurochs, into thousands of fragments to extract calorie-rich fat in what scientists are calling a prehistoric "fat factory."
Just published in Science Advances, the study provides the earliest clear case of intensive grease-rendering in Paleolithic archaeology, predating similar practices by tens of thousands of years and revealing a level of resource management once thought unique to Homo sapiens during the Upper Paleolithic (~28,000 years ago) (Kindler et al., 2025).
"This was intensive, organized, and strategic," said Dr. Lutz Kindler, lead author of the study from Leibniz Zentrum für Archäologie (MONREPOS). "Neanderthals were clearly managing resources with precision-planning hunts, transporting carcasses, and rendering fat in a task-specific area" , quotes a University of Leiden report.
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Bones were processed from complete bones to tiny fragments. (Kindler, 2025. LEIZA-Monrepos)
A Sophisticated Survival Strategy
Unlike previous evidence of marrow extraction, this discovery at Neumark-Nord 2 (NN2/2B) illustrates a two-step process: first, Neanderthals fractured bones to extract marrow; second, they crushed the remaining fragments into smaller pieces and boiled them to release bone grease, a high energy food critical for surviving in resource-scarce conditions.
The site's archaeological layer reveals over 120,000 small bone fragments, 16,500 flint tools, and hammerstones, clustered tightly within a 50-square-meter processing area near the edge of a paleolake. The researchers documented "bone floors," depressions filled with charred fragments that bear traces of heating-hallmarks of fat rendering notes the AAAS press release.
"The evidence from NN2/2B constitutes the earliest clear case of intensive grease-rendering yet documented for the Paleolithic," the study concludes. "It represents a substantial investment of both time and effort aimed at retrieving precious lipids from a large number of prey animals" (AAAS, 2025).
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At the Neumark-Nord 2 site, near the margin of a shallow pool, there is a dense concentration of bones from more than 170 larger mammals (highlighted in blue), mixed with flint artifacts (red) and hammer stones (red). (Kindler, 2025. LEIZA-Monrepos)
A Landscape of Neanderthal Industry
This newly recognized "fat factory" is only part of a much broader picture emerging from the Neumark-Nord site complex, a ~30-hectare area excavated by archaeologists from MONREPOS and Leiden University between 2004 and 2009. According to Prof. Wil Roebroeks, co-author and Leiden-based archaeologist, Neanderthals practiced a task-zoned landscape economy.
"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," Roebroeks said (University of Leiden, 2025).
This behavioral evidence demonstrates planning depth and cognitive complexity: Neanderthals didn't just hunt reactively. They transported carcasses, cached resources, and reused the landscape across seasons. The rendering site itself, with its close proximity to a water source and fire pits, was purposefully chosen to support labor-intensive fat extraction.
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Ecological Footprint of the Neanderthals
The volume of animal remains at Neumark-Nord suggests that Neanderthals had a substantial impact on their environment, especially on large herbivores. Similar evidence has emerged from other local sites such as Rabutz, Gröbern, and Taubach, where archaeologists have recovered the butchered remains of rhinos and straight-tusked elephants-creatures that reproduce slowly and may have been overharvested during the Last Interglacial.
"With these sites, we are only looking at the tip of the proverbial iceberg of Neanderthal impact on herbivore populations," Roebroeks noted, emphasizing that these activities imply long-term ecological awareness and adaptation (University of Leiden, 2025).
Rewriting Neanderthal Capabilities
The Neumark-Nord 2 findings challenge lingering assumptions that Neanderthals were cognitively inferior or purely opportunistic foragers. Instead, the evidence paints a picture of resilient, capable, and highly organized hominins who understood the nutritional value of fat, and who developed strategies to obtain and preserve it.
"These weren't simple hunter-gatherers just getting by day to day-they were master planners," said Dr. Geoff Smith from the University of Reading, a co-author of the study. "They could look ahead, organize complex tasks, and squeeze every last calorie from their environment" (Reading University, 2025).
With ongoing advances in geoarchaeology, isotopic analysis, and landscape excavation, Neumark-Nord continues to reshape the narrative of Neanderthal adaptability-highlighting their ingenuity, ecological impact, and ability to thrive in changing climates long before Homo sapiens came to dominate the globe.
Top image: The Neumark-Nord 2/2B site was excavated through year-round campaigns by a core team from 2004 to 2009. Source: Wil Roebroeks/Leiden University
By Gary Manners
References
Kindler, L., Gaudzinski-Windheuser, S., Roebroeks, W., et al. (2025). Science Advances. Available at: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adv1257
Reading University Press Release, July 2, 2025. Available at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/news/2025/Research-News/Neanderthals-crushed-animal-bones-to-hoard-fat-for-winter
University of Leiden Press Release, July 2, 2025. Available at: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025/07/neanderthals-ran-fat-factories-125000-years-ago
AAAS Science News Release, July 2, 2025.
