Evidence shows that Neanderthals deliberately acquired and modified eagle talons, and probably removed large feathers from bird wings. It does not prove that they caught and killed golden eagles. The archaeological record preserves cut marks, polishing, abrasion and wear on selected bones, but those traces cannot identify whether a bird was trapped alive, found dead or obtained in another way.
The species and sites also matter. The famous group of eight talons from Krapina, Croatia, belonged to white-tailed eagles, not golden eagles. Golden-eagle evidence comes from feather-removal traces at Grotta di Fumane in Italy and claw-removal finds at Rio Secco Cave in Italy and Mandrin Cave in France.
The short answer: deliberate use, unproven killing
Several Mousterian sites contain evidence that Neanderthals selected eagle parts for purposes other than eating. At Krapina, eight mostly complete white-tailed eagle talons were cut, polished, abraded and notched in patterns consistent with mounting them as an ornament. At Grotta di Fumane, modifications on wing bones from several bird species, including golden eagle, are interpreted as intentional removal of large feathers. At Rio Secco and Mandrin, cut marks on golden-eagle pedal bones are consistent with detaching claws.
Those observations support purposeful acquisition and processing. They do not provide a direct record of a hunt. A cut mark near a tendon can show how a claw was removed, but not whether the eagle was killed by Neanderthals, discovered after dying, taken from another predator or captured alive and released. The researchers who studied the finds discuss active capture as a possibility, not as an established event.
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Why Krapina is often misidentified
Krapina, in present-day Croatia, is the source of the best-known Neanderthal eagle-talon assemblage. Radovčić and colleagues reported eight mostly complete talons from deposits dated to approximately 130,000 years ago. The species is the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), a large raptor that is different from the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos).
Four of the eight talons carry multiple cut marks with smoothed edges. All eight show polishing facets and/or abrasion, and three of the larger talons have small notches in a similar position. The repeated combination of modification and wear is unlikely to be explained by ordinary deposition alone. The authors interpret it as consistent with talons having been mounted together in an item such as a necklace or bracelet.
What the marks actually show
- Cut marks: Four talons have several incisions whose smoothed edges indicate subsequent contact or handling.
- Polishing and abrasion: All eight talons show facets or worn areas, compatible with repeated contact after the claws were removed.
- Notches: Three larger talons have similarly placed small notches, suggesting a shared modification practice.
- Associated pedal bone: A nearby pedal phalanx bears cuts that the authors interpret as tendon cutting to obtain the talons, rather than feather removal or food processing.
The physical evidence supports deliberate curation. It does not reveal whether the finished object was definitely a necklace, who wore it or what social message it carried. A 2020 surface-analysis study of a Krapina talon identified wear and pigment and considered whether fibers or another material might have bound or decorated an ornament. Those possibilities remain interpretations, not proof of a complete surviving piece of jewelry.
Golden-eagle feathers at Grotta di Fumane
Grotta di Fumane, in northern Italy, preserves a different kind of evidence. Peresani and colleagues examined final Mousterian deposits dated to roughly 44,000 years before present. They documented cut, peeling and scraping marks, diagnostic fractures and breakthroughs on wing bones. The modifications were restricted to wings, an anatomical pattern the authors considered incompatible with ordinary carcass consumption and consistent with intentional removal of large feathers.
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The assemblage includes several bird species: lammergeier, Eurasian black vulture, golden eagle, red-footed falcon, common wood pigeon and Alpine chough. Golden eagle is therefore one species in a broader pattern of wing processing. The study does not describe a single, fully documented golden-eagle hunt. Instead, it shows that Neanderthals handled selected wings in a way that could have allowed them to remove and retain feathers.
Why wing concentration matters
When people butcher a carcass for meat, marks tend to occur where skin, muscle and joints are being separated. At Fumane, the relevant traces are concentrated on wing elements, including marks associated with peeling and scraping and fractures that expose the bone. The anatomical selectivity is the basis for inferring a feather-related activity. It does not identify the exact tool, the duration of use or the eventual purpose of the feathers.
Feathers could have served practical, visual or symbolic roles. They might have been attached to clothing, headgear or other objects, but the surviving bones do not preserve a finished item or establish a particular design. The safest conclusion is narrower: large feathers were intentionally removed from selected wings, and golden eagle was among the birds involved.
Golden-eagle claw removal at Rio Secco and Mandrin
Romandini and colleagues reported two golden-eagle pedal phalanges from Mousterian contexts in Europe. One came from Rio Secco Cave in northeast Italy, in deposits no younger than approximately 49,100–48,000 calibrated years before present. The other came from Mandrin Cave in the Middle Rhône region of France, in a context dated to around 50,000 years ago.
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Both specimens have cut marks near the proximal ends of the pedal bones. That location is consistent with cutting tendons so the claw could be detached. The authors also conducted experimental work supporting a method for deliberately removing claws without destroying them. They argued that the specimens did not meet nutritional needs for subsistence, making food acquisition an unlikely explanation for the processing.
What this adds to the Krapina evidence
Rio Secco and Mandrin involve golden eagles specifically, whereas Krapina involves white-tailed eagles. They are also isolated claw-removal cases rather than a concentrated set of eight modified talons. Together, the sites show that deliberate eagle-talon acquisition was not confined to one locality or one species. They still leave the acquisition question open: a detachable claw is evidence of processing, not a witness to the moment the bird was obtained.
Comparing the evidence by species, site and inference
| Species | Site and approximate date | Observed trace | Behavioral inference |
|---|---|---|---|
| White-tailed eagle | Krapina, Croatia; about 130,000 years ago | Eight mostly complete talons; cut marks on four, polishing or abrasion on all, and similar notches on three | Talons were deliberately curated and probably mounted in an ornament; the acquisition method is unknown |
| Golden eagle among several bird species | Grotta di Fumane, northern Italy; final Mousterian deposits, about 44,000 years before present | Cut, peeling and scrape marks, fractures and breakthroughs restricted to wing bones | Intentional removal of large feathers; the evidence does not document a particular hunt |
| Golden eagle | Rio Secco Cave, northeast Italy; no younger than approximately 49,100–48,000 calibrated years before present | Cut marks near the proximal part of a pedal phalanx | Claw removal by cutting tendons; deliberate acquisition is likely, but capture or killing is not demonstrated |
| Golden eagle | Mandrin Cave, Middle Rhône, France; around 50,000 years ago | Cut marks near the proximal part of a pedal phalanx | Claw removal consistent with experimental reconstruction; the bird’s acquisition history remains unknown |
Could Neanderthals have captured live eagles?
The Krapina authors considered live capture a possible explanation. If a person wanted intact talons, taking them from a live bird could avoid damage caused by decomposition or scavenging. The cut marks on an associated pedal phalanx are compatible with cutting tendons to free the claw. That reasoning makes active targeting plausible, but it does not establish that a live white-tailed eagle was captured.
The same caution applies to golden-eagle finds. Removing a claw without shattering it may indicate care in handling the part. It does not tell us whether the eagle was trapped, speared, taken from a nest, scavenged after death or acquired through exchange. Archaeological marks record actions performed on bones; they rarely preserve the circumstances that brought the carcass or body part to a site.
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Why “caught and killed” is too strong
To prove killing, archaeologists would need evidence that directly links human action to the bird’s death, such as an injury pattern that can be attributed to a weapon and a context showing the bird was acquired at that moment. The cited talon and wing studies do not provide that chain of evidence. Their strongest claims concern selection, removal and modification after acquisition.
A dramatic scene in which Neanderthals pursue and kill a golden eagle may be a useful illustration, but it is a narrative reconstruction. It should not be presented as an observed fact or as the only explanation compatible with the bones.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the finds say about Neanderthal behavior
The strongest behavioral conclusion is that Neanderthals recognized the value of particular bird parts and invested effort in preserving them. Krapina’s repeated wear patterns suggest curation rather than one-time breakage. Fumane’s wing-focused processing indicates that feathers themselves could be the target. Rio Secco and Mandrin show deliberate attention to detachable golden-eagle claws.
These practices fit a broader reassessment of Neanderthal behavior. An account by Asher Elbein in Audubon (2019) reported that a review of remains from 154 Neanderthal sites found large-bodied raptor remains at 75 sites. That figure belongs to the review as summarized in the article; it is not a separately verified count here, and it should not be read as proof that every site contains evidence of ornament production.
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David W. Frayer, an anthropologist at the University of Kansas, told Elbein: “The study of birds had a major impact in changing the study of Neanderthals, from Neanderthals being dummies to Neanderthals being capable of symbolic behavior.” The quote captures the significance of the evidence without resolving the details of acquisition or meaning.
Were the talons symbolic ornaments?
At Krapina, an ornament is a strong interpretation because several talons share comparable modifications and wear. The authors proposed a necklace or bracelet, and the 2020 surface study explored traces that could relate to binding fibers or pigment. Yet no intact cord, finished ornament or arrangement on a human body survived. The talons may have been attached to one object, several objects or another material that is no longer preserved.
“Symbolic” also has to be used carefully. It can mean that an object was selected and displayed beyond immediate subsistence needs; it cannot, from these bones alone, tell us whether the talons signaled identity, status, affiliation, memory or ritual. Stewart Finlayson, identified in the Audubon article as a biologist with the Gibraltar National Museum, said: “Evidence of feather and talon use elevates Neanderthals to the world of symbolism, even spirituality.” That is an interpretive statement, not a decipherment of a specific Neanderthal belief.
Common mistakes when describing the evidence
- Calling Krapina’s talons golden eagle: They are white-tailed eagle talons.
- Turning feather evidence into a hunting claim: Fumane shows intentional wing processing, not a witnessed kill.
- Equating claw removal with carcass acquisition: Rio Secco and Mandrin document processing of golden-eagle pedal bones, while the route by which the birds were obtained is unknown.
- Treating a proposed ornament as an excavated necklace: The Krapina authors infer mounting from cut marks, wear and notches; no complete necklace survives.
- Assuming every raptor bone was symbolic: The reported 75-of-154-site figure concerns the presence of large-bodied raptor remains, not proof of symbolic treatment at each site.
What remains unknown
Three questions cannot currently be answered from these finds alone:
- How were the birds obtained? Live capture, killing, scavenging, nest collection and other pathways remain possible in different cases.
- What did the objects look like? Talons may have been mounted or bound, and feathers may have been attached to clothing or other items, but the finished forms are not preserved.
- What did they mean? Deliberate selection and curation imply importance, yet the social or spiritual meanings of the objects are inaccessible from the marks alone.
Accordingly, the most defensible answer to the title question is qualified: Neanderthals deliberately acquired and modified eagle talons and intentionally removed large feathers, including from golden eagles. The archaeological evidence does not prove that they caught and killed golden eagles to obtain them.
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