Scientists say turtle shells could hold clues to secret side of Neanderthal behavior

Cavemen hunted turtles - but not for food, new research suggests.

Careful cleaning of fragments found at the Neumark-Nord archaeological site in Germany indicates that pond turtle shells were used as small containers or scoop-like implements, news agency SWNS reported.

An international research team examined pieces of turtle shell - dating back some 125,000 years - discovered at the dig in what is now the Saxony-Anhalt region of Germany.

However, the team believe the turtles were not used as a food source.

The research team reported last year that Neanderthals operated a kind of "factory" at the site, systematically extracting fat from the bones of large mammals.

Gaudzinski-Windheuser said that "pond turtles have a comparatively low nutritional value," weighing roughly 2.2 pounds.

"However, they are relatively easy to catch and may therefore have been hunted by children. Their shells may then have been processed into tools."

The new study was published in the journal Scientific Reports. It's the latest in a series of ongoing scientific analyses of material from the former open-cast lignite mine at Neumark-Nord.