Half-tonne birds may have roamed Europe at same time as humans

[Judi Lynn]

Huge thigh bone in Crimean cave belonged to largest bird found in northern hemisphere

Ian Sample Science editor

@iansample
Wed 26 Jun 2019 19.01 EDT

Giant flightless birds that dwarfed modern ostriches and weighed nearly half a tonne roamed Europe when the first archaic humans arrived from Africa, scientists say.

Researchers unearthed the fossilised thigh bone of one of the feathered beasts while excavating a cave on the Crimean peninsula on the northern coast of the Black Sea. It is the first time such a massive bird has been found in the northern hemisphere.

Analysis of the 40cm-long bone and others found with it date the remains to between 1.5m and 1.8m years old, suggesting the birds may have been part of the local wildlife when Homo erectus, an ancient ancestor of modern humans, reached Europe 1.2m years ago.

The enormous birds may well have been a valuable source of meat, bones, feathers and eggshells for the early human settlers, the scientists say.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jun/27/half-tonne-birds-roamed-europe-humans

[eppur_se_muova]

1. early human settlers ... may well have been a valuable source of meat ... for ... The enormous birds

Can't have biased reporting like that.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Self-basting settlers would be the top of the line.

Bake stuffing separately.