Deer, Ibex and Ambush Hunting

In Gibraltar’s caves we find evidence of a predominance of hunting a particular species of goat, Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica), followed by red deer (Cervus elaphus), a typical pattern in parts of the Mediterranean with access to rocky areas.

Gibraltar’s landscape during the Pleistocene, as we have seen in previous posts, was rich and diverse, a mosaic of different ecosystems – plains, dunes, forests, wetlands, marshes, beaches and rocky cliffs.

Both the cliff areas and their platforms, as well as the small forests and shrubland were the locations of choice for the Neanderthals to put their hunting strategies into play. Through their technology and their type of prey, it is believed that Neanderthals would have used an ambush technique to hunt these medium-sized mammals They would have hidden hiding behind rocks or bushes waiting for the passage of prey, be it solitary or in a herd, as they would have been familiar with their routes and watering holes and, when it was a short distance away, they would have attacked it with sharp wooden spears or points made of stone.

The possibility that Neanderthals could have launched these spears has also been proposed. If this was so, there is no doubt that the hunter’s accuracy would decrease with distance, so even though this is no longer a close combat, concealment, camouflage and stealth techniques would still have been very important factors within their hunting strategy.