Neanderthals were apex hunters of Ice Age Europe. They took reindeer, horse and bison, killed woolly mammoth and rhino at close range, butchered 13-tonne straight-tusked elephants, and shared the cold with cave lions, cave bears and hyenas.
The old caricature of the Neanderthal as a clumsy brute has been demolished by the archaeology of what they ate. Neanderthals were formidable, versatile hunters who thrived across glacial Europe and western Asia for hundreds of thousands of years.
Close-range hunters
Neanderthals favoured heavy thrusting spears rather than long-distance projectiles, which meant killing large animals up close. The pattern of healed fractures in their skeletons has been compared to the injuries of modern rodeo riders — the signature of grappling with big, powerful prey. Their Mousterian toolkit was built for butchery.
| Prey | Habitat | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Reindeer & red deer | Steppe & woodland | Reliable staples across most of their range |
| Horse, bison & aurochs | Open steppe | Large herd grazers taken in ambushes |
| Woolly mammoth & rhino | Mammoth steppe | Dangerous megafauna butchered at sites like La Cotte |
| Straight-tusked elephant | Interglacial forests | 13-tonne giants butchered at Neumark-Nord ~125 ka |
| Ibex & chamois | Mountains | Hunted on steep terrain |
Butchering giants
At Neumark-Nord in Germany, cut-marked bones show Neanderthals systematically butchering enormous Palaeoloxodon straight-tusked elephants — animals of up to 13 tonnes — around 125,000 years ago, implying larger, better-organised groups than once assumed. At La Cotte de St Brelade on Jersey, heaps of mammoth and rhino bone hint at hunters exploiting the landscape to trap big game.
The predators they shared the cold with
Neanderthals were not the only hunters abroad. The cave lion (Panthera spelaea), the cave hyena, leopards, wolves and the giant cave bear all competed for prey and shelter. Neanderthals even took birds of prey: eagle talons cut from their bones are among the earliest known ornaments.
Not only meat
Their menu went well beyond big game. Dental tartar and site remains show Neanderthals ate shellfish on the Iberian coast, plus cooked plants and seeds, tortoises, birds and mushrooms. They were opportunistic, wide-ranging feeders, not one-note carnivores.
Why it matters
The animals Neanderthals hunted reveal a capable, adaptable people who tackled the most dangerous game on Earth and adjusted their diet to whatever a region offered. Their eventual disappearance had little to do with any lack of hunting skill.
See where the Neanderthals and their prey lived across Ice Age Europe on the interactive tree.
Explore the family tree →Frequently asked questions
What did Neanderthals mainly eat?
Large herbivores — reindeer, horse, bison and red deer — formed the core of their diet, supplemented by mammoth, plants, shellfish, birds and small game depending on region and season.
Did Neanderthals hunt mammoths?
Yes. Neanderthal sites preserve butchered woolly mammoth and rhino, and at Neumark-Nord they even processed 13-tonne straight-tusked elephants, though such megafauna were probably occasional rather than everyday prey.
Did anything hunt Neanderthals?
Cave lions, cave hyenas, leopards and cave bears were dangerous neighbours, but Neanderthals were effective predators in their own right and largely held their ground.
- Gaudzinski-Windheuser, S. et al. (2023). 'Hunting and processing of straight-tusked elephants 125,000 years ago at Neumark-Nord.' Science Advances 9. science.org
- Roebroeks, W. et al. (2021). 'Landscape modification by Last Interglacial Neanderthals.' Science Advances 7. science.org
- Smithsonian Human Origins — Homo neanderthalensis. humanorigins.si.edu