L’uomo di Neanderthal era cacciatore e ghiotto di piccioni. Alcuni paleontologi hanno infatti scoperto utensili e resti di ossa di piccione cotti nonché segni di dentature sugli stessi in una grotta di Gibilterra.
Gli studiosi hanno passato al setaccio la caverna di Gorham, situata nella parte antistante di Gibilterra di fronte al Mediterraneo dove sono anche state trovate tracce di vita quotidiana dell’uomo di Neanderthal e poi di quello moderno in epoche risalenti fino a 67'000 anni fa.
Sono state recensite, nei siti occupati dagli umani all’interno della grotta, oltre 17'000 ossa di piccione di roccia, il progenitore del piccione domestico odierno. Lo studio è stato pubblicato sulla rivista “Nature Scientific Reports”. Il piccione di roccia ha quindi costituito per lunghissimi anni un’importante risorsa alimentare nell’ambiente roccioso di Gibilterra.
Red.MM/ATS/Swing
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