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 […]
Homo Neanderthalensis
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 […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
The Zagros Mountains were the place where Neanderthals and modern humans interbred
An international team of researchers has used innovative ecological modeling techniques to identify, for the first time, the possible geographical areas where Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans might have encountered and interbred tens of thousands of years ago. The study, recently published in the journal Scientific Reports, highlights the crucial role played by certain geographical […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
Abric Pizarro archaeological site in Spain reveals “surprising” behavior of Neanderthals
The archaeological site of Abric Pizarro in Lleida, Spain, has revealed surprising information about Neanderthal behavior, challenging our previous understanding of these ancient humans. Located in the foothills of the southern Pyrenees, this unexplored area is shedding light on a little-known period of Neanderthal history and may help solve the mystery of their eventual disappearance. […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
The Altamura Man, the Best-Preserved Neanderthal Fossil, Is So Ancient That It Was Found Embedded Among Stalactites and Stalagmites
In 1993, in the Lamalunga karst system near the town of Altamura in southern Italy, an extraordinary archaeological discovery was made: a Neanderthal skeleton, nicknamed the Altamura Man, which is estimated to be between 130,000 and 172,000 years old, was found. The discovery was not only significant due to its age but also because of […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
Face of a 75,000-year-old Neanderthal Woman whose Remains were Found in Shanidar Cave Reconstructed
A team of archaeologists and researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, has painstakingly reconstructed the face of a female Neanderthal who lived around 75,000 years ago and was buried in the heart of Iraqi Kurdistan. The story began in 2018 when the team excavated the remains of this Neanderthal woman from the Shanidar cave, […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
Oldest Incised Bone Found in Northern Europe Demonstrates Early Cognitive Abilities of Neanderthals
A bear radius fragment with seventeen incisions (one of them incomplete) was excavated in the 1950s in the Dziadowa Skała Cave in the Upland of Częstochowa, southern Poland, from a deposit with fauna remains from the Eemian period (between 130,000 and 115,000 years ago). This object has been cited as the earliest evidence of Neanderthals’ […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
Neanderthals Found to Use Complex Adhesives Before Homo Sapiens
Scientists have made a surprising discovery about the advanced capabilities of ancient humans in Europe over 40,000 years ago. A team of researchers reexamining stone tools from the Neanderthal site of Le Moustier in southwestern France found evidence that the early cave dwellers were using a multi-component adhesive to attach handles to spear points and […]
