Food remains found at sites inhabited by ancient species can provide significant information about their way of life. For Neandertals, this kind of information is particularly valuable, as it helps researchers understand how these early humans adapted to live across various environments over hundreds of thousands of years. While fossil records show that Neandertals were capable of hunting large animals like cave lions, there is much less archaeological evidence about how they cooked smaller prey, such as birds. This lack of clear evidence has made it difficult to determine whether Neandertals were responsible for certain marks found on bones at ancient sites. To address this, a team of three Spanish researchers decided to conduct an experiment to recreate the meals of Neandertals. Their goal was to better identify the bones that were cooked by this extinct species and to understand their cooking methods. The study, published on October 24 in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, was conducted by Mariana Nabais and her colleagues from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) in Tarragona, Spain. The researchers focused on two Middle Paleolithic sites in Portugal—Figueira Brava and Oliveira—that date back 90,000 years. At these sites, archaeologists had found bird bones with cut and burn marks, but it was unclear if Neandertals had made these marks. To investigate further, the team used flint tools, similar to those used by Neandertals, to prepare and cook five birds: two black crows, two turkeys, and a rock pigeon. They observed that it was easier to cut the birds after they had been cooked, which suggested that Neandertals may have used similar techniques. The researchers also noted that roasting the birds required careful control of temperature and time to avoid burning the meat. Their experiments highlighted the precision and effort required to butcher and cook using Neandertal tools, revealing the complexity of their daily lives and survival strategies. The study not only demonstrated the manual skills of Neandertals but also suggested that they possessed intelligence often overlooked. The ability to catch and prepare small, fast prey indicates a level of planning and strategy. However, the researchers also found that cooking made the bones more fragile, which could explain why such evidence is rare in archaeological findings. Despite these challenges, the study provides valuable insights that could help future excavations better interpret ancient remains. The team acknowledges that this is just the beginning, and further research on Neandertal diets and the use of birds for other purposes, such as feathers and claws, is needed. While the researchers did not eat the cooked birds due to concerns about disease, they admitted that the pigeon was "rather tempting."