Could also get weird and stuff it in the middle. >Hyenas gathered, by eating them, 9 Neanderthal skeletons. Which is even more awkward in actual use, but does

Could also get weird and stuff it in the middle. >Hyenas gathered, by eating them, 9 Neanderthal skeletons. Which is even more awkward in actual use, but does make obvious the biggest problem with the sentence: you don't gather things by eating them.