Neanderthals may have regularly consumed maggots found in rotting meat, according to new research published in Science Advances.
The findings challenge the long-held belief that their diet consisted almost entirely of freshly hunted large animals, such as mammoths. The chemical signature discovered in Neanderthal bones has long puzzled scientists. It suggested a protein-rich diet, even greater than that of apex predators like lions and wolves.
The recent study proposes that this elevated nitrogen level may be explained not only by meat consumption but also by the ingestion of decomposing flesh and maggots.
Melanie Beasley, assistant professor of biological anthropology at Purdue University and lead author of the study, sought to examine whether the nitrogen isotope levels found in Neanderthal remains could be attributed to the consumption of decaying meat, including fly larvae.
Beasley’s work supports a theory previously proposed by John Speth, an anthropologist at the University of Michigan, who suggested that early humans and Neanderthals ate putrid meat and fish. His argument drew on research into indigenous communities where such foods form part of traditional diets.
Beasley stated that at the time, Speth’s theory received little attention due to a lack of supporting data. However, after attending one of his lectures in 2017, she began testing the hypothesis using forensic data from human corpses left to decompose in research facilities.
Her analysis of both human tissue and the maggots that developed on the bodies revealed nitrogen isotope levels higher than expected. She noted that these results could explain the unusually high nitrogen values observed in Neanderthal bones.
The data also indicated that the presence of maggots on meat may have been routine, and consuming them might have been inevitable or even deliberate. This discovery may provide useful insights in forensic science, where nitrogen levels in maggots can help estimate time of death.
Karen Hardy, professor of prehistoric archaeology at the University of Glasgow, said the idea that Neanderthals ate maggots was entirely plausible. “It’s not surprising,” she said. “The real surprise lies in our Western attitudes about what is considered edible.”
According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, two billion people across the world include insects in their diets. Historical accounts from the Inuit and other indigenous communities also describe the consumption of maggot-infested meat, often left to rot deliberately until it liquefied.
In 1931, Greenland explorer Knud Rasmussen wrote of such practices:
“The meat had turned green, and when we cut into it, it burst like an abscess — it was full of maggots. My companions ate them with delight. When I criticised the taste, they replied, ‘You like caribou meat, don’t you? These maggots are the same meat — just alive. They even taste the same.’”
The study also referenced casu marzu, a traditional Sardinian cheese that contains live fly larvae — suggesting that such practices are not unknown in Western cultures.
Beasley added that people living in northern latitudes still prepare and consume such foods using traditional methods.
Scientific Method and Constraints
To study ancient diets, researchers analyse isotopes such as nitrogen and carbon preserved in bones and teeth. These elements indicate where a creature sat in the food chain. Findings in the 1990s revealed that Neanderthals had unusually high levels of nitrogen-15, consistent with hypercarnivorous behaviour.
However, modern humans cannot survive on lean meat alone. Excessive protein intake can lead to “rabbit starvation,” a condition noted among European explorers in North America, where the liver cannot process the nitrogen from too much protein.
It is thought that Neanderthals understood the importance of fat. In parts of Germany, archaeologists found bones that had been processed to extract marrow and fat.
Speth’s theory proposed that decomposing meat has a higher nitrogen content than fresh meat. This may account for the elevated nitrogen levels in Neanderthal remains.
Beasley, who previously worked as a forensic anthropologist at the University of Tennessee, used data from human cadavers placed in a decomposition research facility. The tissues and larvae were analysed for nitrogen content, and the results were unexpectedly high.
She noted that maggots may have been a natural part of meat during that period, either eaten intentionally or as an unavoidable addition.
The study does, however, acknowledge limitations:
The sample size was small.
The tissue analysed came from humans, not animals hunted by Neanderthals.
The larvae belonged to three modern fly families, which may differ from those of the Pleistocene era.
Climate and temperature variables were not included.
The tissue was not cooked, processed or treated in any way.
Beasley is now working with researchers in Alaska to understand the traditional food preparation techniques of indigenous groups, in order to assess their influence on nitrogen values.
Wil Roebroeks, professor emeritus of palaeolithic archaeology at Leiden University in the Netherlands, commented:
“This study offers a new — if one may say ‘fresh’ — perspective on the diet and culinary practices of Stone Age people.”
