Spotted hyenas, like their ancient relatives, sometimes scavenge animals killed by other predators
Nic van Oudtshoorn / Alamy
Around 1.4 million years ago, ancient humans in Spain used to scavenge for food at a site that also served as a latrine for giant hyenas.
Fuente Nueva 3 in south-eastern Spain is one of the oldest archaeological sites in Europe associated with ancient hominins. As well as a large collection of primitive stone tools, excavations at the site have uncovered hundreds of examples of fossilised faeces, known as coprolites.
Paul Palmqvist at the University of Malaga …
