Researchers decode ancient proteins of Châtelperronian Neandertals

The Châtelperronian of central France and northern Spain is critical to the debate regarding Neandertal cognition, their use of artefacts typically associated with modern humans and finally, their extinction. Despite intense research, the exact biological nature of the Châtelperronian people is still disputed and no direct molecular data for a Neandertal association with the Châtelperronian has been obtained. To solve this problem, an international research team utilized recent developments in ancient protein analysis, combined with multiple additional lines of evidence to demonstrate that the Châtelperronian hominins at the Grotte du Renne, an archaeological site from north central France, are Neandertals.