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Reindeer meat may be considered a delicacy in some countries, but 30,000 years ago our European ancestors preferred eating mammoths.

Cuts of reindeer were instead saved for their canine companions, according to research at Předmostí, a prehistoric site in the Czech Republic.

The Gravettian people used the bones of more than 1,000 mammoths to build their settlement, as well as creating incredible ivory sculptures.

Researchers at University of Tübingen wanted to know whether the Gravettian culture harvested the bones from already dead mammoths, or if they hunted them for food. Artist's impression of a mammoth pictured

But researchers at the University of Tübingen wanted to know whether the Gravettian culture harvested the bones from already dead mammoths, or if they hunted them for food.

Scientists carried out an analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in human and animal fossil bones from the site.

They then tested to see whether the Gravettian people ate mammoth meat by examining the bones alongside bones from dogs at the site.

Reindeer meat may be considered a delicacy in some countries, but 30,000 years ago our European ancestors preferred eating mammoths. Cuts of reindeer were instead saved for their canine companions, according to research at Předmostí, a prehistoric site in the Czech Republic

CULTURE OF GRAVETTIAN PEOPLE

Pictured is a Gravettian Upper Paleolithic Venus figure holding horn or cornucopia

Gravettian culture flourished 31,000 – 22,000 years ago in the European Upper Paleolithic era.

The phase was characterised by a stone-tool industry with small pointed blades used for big-game hunting, such as bison, horse, reindeer and mammoth.

It is divided into two regional groups: the western Gravettian, mostly known from cave sites in France, and the eastern Gravettian, with sites for mammoth hunters on the plains of central Europe and Russia.

The culture appeared at a time when Neanderthals were being displaced by modern humans, who had entered Europe from Africa and the Middle East some 15,000 years before. 

During this process, Neanderthals retreated to the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula.

The Gravettian people are famous for the many Venus figurines they created, which are widely distributed in Europe.

 Another famous prehistoric discovery of this period are the hand stencils in Cosquer Cave close to Marseilles.

They discovered that the culture probably left behind large amounts of mammoth carcasses as shown by the finding that brown bears, wolves and wolverines also ate mammoths.

Surprisingly, dogs in the settlement did not show a high level of mammoth consumption, but rather consumed reindeer meat.

Scientists believe reindeers were hunted by the Gravettian people for their antlers to make tools, and their meat was also a small part of their diet. 

The culture appeared at a time when Neanderthals were being displaced by modern humans, who had entered Europe from Africa and the Middle East some 15,000 years before.

The study confirms that mammoths were a key component of the prehistoric diet in Europe 30,000 years ago, and that dogs were already being looked after by humans.

Separate research has found that the sudden appearance of dwellings built from mammoth bones was due to humans hunting alongside the earliest domesticated dogs.

In May, Pat Shipman of Penn State University took a fresh look at European archaeological sites built with mammoth bones.

'One of the greatest puzzles about these sites is how such large numbers of mammoths could have been killed with the weapons available during that time,' she said.

Professor Shipman used information about how humans hunt with dogs to formulate a series of testable predictions about these mammoth sites.

'Dogs help hunters find prey faster and more often and dogs also can surround a large animal and hold it in place by growling and charging while hunters move in. Both of these effects would increase hunting success,' she said.

'Large dogs like those identified by Germonpré either can help carry the prey home or, by guarding the carcass from other carnivores, can make it possible for the hunters to camp at the kill sites.'

The study confirms that mammoths were a key component of the prehistoric diet in Europe 30,000 years ago, and that dogs were already being looked after by humans (artist's impression pictured)

Předmostí I is an prehistoric site of the Gravettian people located near Brno in the Czech Republic