Researchers from Aberdeen and UNED found at Payre in France that about 91% of rhinoceros remains in one layer were isolated teeth, unlike other animals' broken bones.
Microscopic analysis and experiments using modern zoo specimens matched grooves, pits and fractures on fossils from France and Spain, indicating the teeth served as soft hammers and compact anvils.
Published in the Journal of Human Evolution, the study suggests Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals added rhinoceros teeth to toolkits of stone, bone and wood, showing selective reuse of animal remains.
A rhino's tooth just rewrote Neanderthal history. What other advanced tools have we overlooked in their world?
Neanderthals chose specific animal parts for tools. Was their knowledge of materials comparable to our own early ancestors?