An international team of scientists has found a bone spear tip dating back between 80,000 and 70,000 years in the Mezmaiskaya cave, in the North Caucasus (Russia). What’s extraordinary about the discovery is that it was made by Neanderthals, demonstrating that this human species was already developing advanced hunting tools long before modern humans arrived […]
Homo Neanderthalensis
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
Evidence Discovered That Neanderthals and Homo sapiens Coexisted, Sharing Technology, Customs, and Funerary Rituals 110,000 Years Ago
A recent archaeological discovery in Tinshemet Cave, located in central Israel, has provided compelling evidence that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens not only coexisted in the region but also shared technology, ways of life, and funerary rituals, suggesting a much closer relationship than previously thought. Excavations in Tinshemet Cave have been ongoing since 2017, led by […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
New Dating Confirms That the Lapedo Child, a Hybrid of Modern Human and Neanderthal, Lived Thousands of Years After Their Extinction
An international team of researchers has successfully directly dated the remains of the so-called Lapedo Child, an infant skeleton discovered in 1998 in the rock shelter of Lagar Velho, in the Leiria region of Portugal, which exhibits hybrid characteristics of Neanderthals and modern humans. Thanks to the application of radiocarbon dating on hydroxyproline from collagen—a […]
Posted inScience
The Ear of Neanderthals Reveals That Their Enigmatic Origin Was Not Caused by a Drastic Loss of Genetic Diversity
A recent study on the anatomy of the inner ear of Neanderthals and their ancestors has cast doubt on the widely accepted hypothesis that their lineage emerged following an event of drastic reduction in genetic diversity. This finding, published in the journal Nature Communications, is based on the analysis of fossils found at various sites […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
More than 400 Flint Artifacts Used by Neanderthals to Make Tools Found in Northern France
A recent study on the geological and stratigraphic context of the L’Enclos site, located in Mainvilliers (in northern France, near Chartres), has shed new light on human occupation in the region during the Middle Paleolithic. The research has revealed that the lithic artifacts found at the site were preserved within sedimentary colluvium accumulated over a […]
Posted inScience
The Blood of Homo sapiens Explains How They Survived, While That of Neanderthals May Have Led to Their Extinction
A group of scientists has found clues in blood groups that explain how modern humans managed to survive and expand from Africa to the rest of the world. Published in the journal Scientific Reports, the study compares the genes of the blood groups of Homo sapiens and Neanderthals to better understand our history as a […]
Posted inScience
Homo sapiens Interbred with Neanderthals in Eurasia for 7,000 Years in a Genetic Exchange That Occurred 47 Millennia Ago
Research into ancient DNA has revolutionized our understanding of human evolution, unraveling the intricate genetic ties between modern humans and their closest relatives, the Neanderthals. A recent study conducted by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the University of California, Berkeley, reveals how interactions between the two species left an indelible […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
The prehistoric hand stencils in Maltravieso Cave in Spain are so ancient they might have been created by Neanderthals
An international team of researchers has confirmed through uranium-thorium dating that the iconic hand paintings in Maltravieso Cave, in Cáceres, Spain, could be some of the oldest ever created, possibly by Neanderthals. This discovery establishes this cave as a key site for understanding the origins of human art and its evolution. The Maltravieso Cave, located […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
A 65,000-Year-Old Neanderthal ‘Tar Factory’ That Produced Adhesive for Tools, Found in Gibraltar
An archaeological discovery in Gibraltar’s Vanguard Cave has revealed a unique combustion structure built by Neanderthals approximately 65,000 years ago. The study, recently published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews, suggests that Neanderthals used this structure to produce tar from resinous plants, a material likely used as an adhesive in tool-making. The structure, described by […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
Thorin, the World’s Loneliest Neanderthal, Belonged to a Lineage Isolated for Over 50,000 Years
A fossilized Neanderthal, discovered in a cave system in the Rhône Valley, France, has been identified as belonging to an ancient and previously unknown lineage that split from other known Neanderthals around 100,000 years ago. This lineage remained genetically isolated for over 50,000 years. The Neanderthal, nicknamed Thorin after a character from Tolkien’s works, lived […]
