About 128,000 years ago, the world began to warm up. It was a relatively brief respite between two ice ages, and it lasted about 14,000 years. Temperatures reached about two degrees Celsius above the average in the 20th century, glaciers thawed and large parts of Europe gave way to dense forests.

The Neanderthals who lived on the mainland had a hard time coping with sudden climate change.

In a new study, researchers from France examined bones and other findings from a cave in the southeastern part of the country and concluded that those ancient people were unable to find enough food in the warmer climate and had to resort to cannibalism to support themselves.





The world was heating up, the mammoths were gone

Numerous bones and tools were found in the soil of the Moula-Guercy cave, from various periods of Neanderthal settlement in the area.





Which dates back to the period between the Ice ages, the cave contains bones and charcoal that were preserved in an excellent manner and enable the researchers to reconstruct the environment of that period, as well as the health of the cave residents.



An examination of the teeth found in this layer indicated that those living there suffered from tooth enamel damage, which is seen in people who did not receive enough food during adolescence.





The reason for this, researchers believe, lies in the rapid change in their living environment and their difficulties in adapting to the new conditions.



"Climate change from the ice age to the warmer period was very rapid," said Emmanuel Desclaux, one of the researchers who worked on the new article, "We are not talking about geological order but on a more human scale.In a short time, perhaps several generations, The landscape has changed completely. "



The mammoths, the great deer and the rhinoceros who were wandering also disappeared. The new forests that grew in southern France had smaller animals: rodents and reptiles. Whether the Neanderthals did not know how to hunt these animals or that these animals did not provide enough meat to feed them, the change seems to have caused the inhabitants of the cave hunger and distress.