Grisly discovery: Bones reveal Neanderthal child was eaten by large bird

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Infant mortality rates were high until the end of the 19th Century. Today there's something like 4 million infants who die each year and that's only a stat for places which keep records. Imagine how many infants and young children were dying when this happened?

I reckon those psycho-looking shoebill storks could easily eat an infant. The Great White Pelican was around Eastern Europe back then and it's a big old bird even today.

Actually one cannot know for certain

Holes....tiny holes........really, from some old dug outta the Earth artifacts...could be anything......they stretch it....idk maybe they're right by accident but stretchin it.....I'm too cynical ....but it's like goin in your backyard and finding a rock, determining the age of the cosmos

Ya know

a reply to: 727Sky

Yep. Very possible, also eagle such as Stellars, Bald, and Golden are more than capable of killing a child.

During the time period, there were even larger eagles around.

New Zealand played host to this bad boy.

Yeah, Neanderthal could hold his own, but there were lots of alpha preds out there who didn't mind chomping on 'em, either.

There were videos on YouTube of eagles killing deer,don`t know if they`re still on there.A Golden Eagle is easily capable of killing a small person,just check out their talons and it`s easy to see why.

a reply to: Gargoyle91

Never seen those pics before.....cool, even if fake (not saying they are!)

I think I remember, from my archeological studies, that at some point in European pre- history, bodies were left out in the open, after death, for carrion (Usually large black coloured birds, crows, ravens, etc) to de-flesh them.
The sight of one of these birds, disturbed mid munch, flying away, maybe the origins of witches flying.

originally posted by: seagull
a reply to: 727Sky

Yep. Very possible, also eagle such as Stellars, Bald, and Golden are more than capable of killing a child.

During the time period, there were even larger eagles around.

New Zealand played host to this bad boy.

Yeah, Neanderthal could hold his own, but there were lots of alpha preds out there who didn't mind chomping on 'em, either.

Yep ... They did find some Terror Bird bones in a river in Florida that due to their mineral content it was estimated the bird died only 10,000 years ago. It was not that long ago that people only thought the Terror Birds only lived in South America...new digs and new bones have proved otherwise.

Like others have said there were plenty of birds of prey capable of carrying off and eating an infant ... That would have been a bad day for everyone except the bird..

a reply to: JAGStorm

Did it drop and kill cat?

a reply to: AthlonSavage

We were on a very busy road and never got to see the outcome. It flew just a few feet away from our windshield.