As a biology student, Patrick was already conducting research on the teeth of Homo neanderthalensis, and he specialised in biomolecular research on bones. ‘I looked to see which antibodies were present in the bone collagen, to determine whether the bone was human or animal. This is now an outdated technique: since the nineties, we have been able to study this in much greater detail with DNA analysis.’

Spy: collected work

In 2004, Patrick led an international team that inventoried and studied all of the remains from the Spy cave, both human and non-human. The search, which also included specimens from private collections, led to many new publications and the sizeable monograph, Spy Cave: 125 years of multidisciplinary research at the Betche aux Rotches (2012). ‘The research confirmed that the bone remains from Spy came from two different adult Neanderthals. We also established that there was a third individual in the collections – a child under two years of age. Using Carbon-14 dating, we estimated the remains to be around 40,000 years old. They therefore date from the period during which European Neanderthals were disappearing as anatomically modern humans increased.’

The research also showed that the Spy Neanderthals did not just eat meat, which had always previously been thought.‘In the tartar on the teeth of the two adult Spy Neanderthals, we found starch grains from the highly nutritious roots of wild water lilies. These Neanderthals therefore had a more varied diet that was previously thought.’