In 1948, a group of amateurs led by a local headmaster in Lehringen, Germany, uncovered the skeleton of a straight-tusked elephant—the largest land mammal known to have roamed Europe—in 125,000-year-old sediments from the last interglacial period. There was an important surprise in this find: between the ribs, the team discovered a complete wooden spear belonging to Neanderthal hunters. Over the years, this was interpreted as either direct evidence of hunting or simply coincidental positioning of the bones and spear.
