Lessons to learn from ancient diets

For decades, Neanderthals have been cast as apex predators, hurling spears, feasting on fresh game, and living short, brutish lives. But new research is reshaping that image, revealing a diet far more complex—and far less appetizing—than previously thought. The latest twist? Neanderthals may have deliberately consumed rotting meat crawling with maggots, not out of desperation, but as a strategic nutritional choice.