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File photo – This March 20, 2009 photo shows reconstructions of a Neanderthal man named "N," left, and woman called "Wilma," right, at the Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann, Germany.
(AP Photo / Martin Meissner)
Archaeologists in Poland have identified the prehistoric bones of a neanderthal child by a large bird.
Science in Poland reports that the small hand bones were found in a cellar in Southern Poland's Malopolska region. Discovered a few years ago, the remains have been thought to be alive until this year.
Tiny holes in the bones indicate that they passed through a large bird's digestive system, according to Professor Pawel Valde-Nowak of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. It is not clear, however, whether the bird attacks and ate the young Neanderthal or scavenged the remains of a dead child.
CLIMATE CHANGE KILLED OFF NEANDERTHALS, STUDY SAYS
Believed to be about 115,000 years old, the bones are the oldest human remains ever discovered in Poland.
Experts from the University of Washington and Jagiellonian University in St. Louis confirmed that the remains are digital bones from a child's hand.
The Archaeological Museum of Krakow and the Polish Academy of Sciences, also part of the research, which will be published in the Journal of Paleolithic Archeology.
PREHISTORIC TOOTH REVEALS SURPRISING DETAILS ABOUT LONG-LOST HUMAN 'COUSINS'
The closest human species to homo sapiens, Neanderthals lived in Eurasia for around 350,000 years. Scientists in Poland report that Neanderthals in Europe mostly became extinct 35,000 years ago. However, there are a number of theories on the timing of Neanderthals' extinction, with experts saying that it could have occurred 40,000, 27,000 or 24,000 years ago.
Neanderthals 'extinction has previously played a role in Neanderthals' extinction than previously thought.
Fox News Chris Ciaccia contributed to this article.
Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
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