A Spanish research team has found lion bones at the Gran Dolina site in Sierra de Atapuerca:
The cave contains hundreds of animal bones, largely red deer and horses, but also a few carnivores in rock layers dating to 250,000 to 350,000 years ago.
One set of lion bones stands out among the other carnivores like foxes and bears. “The relatively high occurrence of cutmarks on lion bones (11.76%) indicates an association between hominids (humans) and this predator,” says the study, adding, “cutmarks related to the skinning and defleshing are identified and the human use of bone marrow is documented by diagnostic elements of anthropogenic (man-made) breakage. All these evidences suggest that the lion was used for food.”
But did the cave diners hunt the lion, Panthera leo fossilis, a cave lion about seven feet long, considerably bigger than today’s African lions, or just pick up some roadkill? “The fact that no pathologies have been documented on the P. leo fossilis remains, which indicate possible diseases or injuries of a traumatic nature that make this predator vulnerable,” suggests that they hunted the big cat.