A recent analysis of Neanderthal bones from the Troisième caverne of Goyet in Belgium, which has a whopping 101 skeletal remains, notes cannibalism was happening 45,000 years ago - women and children impacted most.
The consumed Neanderthals were not from the local tribe and the presence of bones from numerous other animals means they were likely to have been brought into the community just for food, like any other animal, rather than as part of some elaborate ritual.