Cave Fossils In Spain Suggest Ancient Carnivores Were Lured To Their Deaths

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A cavern in Spain may have lured ancient carnivores to their deaths by offering the promise of food and water, new research suggests.

The new study, published May 1 in the journal PLOS ONE, may explain how the carcasses of several carnivore species, including saber-toothed cats and “bear dogs,” wound up in an underground cavern millions of years ago.

“Only the carnivores were daring enough to enter,” said study co-author M. Soledad Domingo, a paleontologist at the University of Michigan. “But they were unable to make their way out.”

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Hyena skeleton found in Spanish cave. Researchers carefully analyzed the type, age, and orientation of fossils like this one to figure out what happened to ancient carnivores.

The researchers reconstructed the history of the cave. Sediments from the surface fell through fissures in the Earth and formed the cave. Young predators were lured in by the promise of food or water, but became trapped. The smell of their rotting carcasses would then attract other predators. Over time, the cave was filled in by flooding, until it became hidden from view.

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Mummy Head, Europe’s Oldest-Known Preserved Human Dissection, To Go On Display

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In the second century, an ethnically Greek Roman named Galen became doctor to the gladiators. His glimpses into the human body via these warriors’ wounds, combined with much more systematic dissections of animals, became the basis of Islamic and European medicine for centuries.

Galen’s texts wouldn’t be challenged for anatomical supremacy until the Renaissance, when human dissections — often in public — surged in popularity. But doctors in medieval Europe weren’t as idle as it may seem, as a new analysis of the oldest-known preserved human dissection in Europe reveals.

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This anatomical specimen dating to the 1200s is the oldest known in Europe.

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This Week In Science History, May 20-27 (SLIDESHOW)

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You know John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth–his Mercury capsule circled the Earth three times before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean.  But who was the second U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth? Don’t know? Don’t worry–you’ll find out in HuffPost Science’s debut “This Week In Science History” slideshow.

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