Wood almost never survives tens of thousands of years, which is why a discovery at Abric Romaní, a rock shelter about 30 miles west of Barcelona, is causing such excitement, Smithsonian Magazine reports.
Researchers from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution documented 597 wooden objects or their imprints across 16 layers dating from around 62,000 to 40,000 years ago. Most are branches, roots and firewood, but 13 show clear signs of being deliberately shaped by Neanderthal hands. The findings were published in Science Advances.
The team says the work points to Neanderthals behaving much more like our own species than once assumed. Chris Stringer of London’s Natural History Museum, who was not involved, said the finds may be “just the tip of the iceberg” of a largely hidden technology, since stone tools are usually all that remains.
Source: Smithsonian Magazine