When cutting a carcass for meat, characteristic marks remain on the bones, but in this case they are the result of gentle skinning, as there is little meat on the bear’s paws. German scientists compared the cuts with marks from purposeful skinning and saw almost complete similarity. Importantly, the bones belonged to a large adult bear, which is an extremely dangerous target, but its pelt is also as warm and large as possible.
The presence of bones of adult animals at the sites of ancient people unequivocally indicates the fact of hunting them. There is no point in hunting for calves, their pelt is small and their fur has not yet grown back, and the quality of the pelt leaves much to be desired with old individuals and fallen animals. It turns out that our ancestors consciously took risks and hunted the most dangerous predators of their time, in order to make themselves blankets and other protection from the winter cold. Hides of less dangerous animals were much worse for this purpose.