Decorated with a line pattern – around 51,000 years ago: The engraved bone of a giant deer proves that our archaic cousins were also capable of symbolic forms of expression. The find comes from the entrance area of the unicorn cave in Lower Saxony and was assigned to the Neanderthals on the basis of its dating. The complex method of processing and the presumably targeted use of a bone of the impressive giant deer indicate the symbolic meaning of the artifact, say the researchers. A direct connection with modern humans seems unlikely, but a cultural influence can obviously not be ruled out.
Since the discovery of the first Neanderthal fossils, scientists have wondered how much Homo sapiens differed from its archaic cousins, who lived in Europe until around 40,000 years ago. Research results in recent years have shown more and more clearly that the Neanderthals were more similar to modern humans than had long been assumed. There is evidence, for example, that they were skilled toolmakers and there have already been references to symbolic-artistic ways of thinking and behaving: Findings show that they adorned themselves with objects, buried their dead and probably even left abstract motifs on cave walls. The current discovery now documents that the Neanderthals apparently also gave objects a symbolic character through engravings.
A small bone with a big meaning
The find comes from the collapsed entrance area of the so-called unicorn cave in the Harz Mountains. When excavating a cultural layer from the time of the Neanderthals, the researchers led by Dirk Leder from the Lower Saxony State Office for the Preservation of Monuments came across various hunting remains. Among them was the toe bone, which at first appeared inconspicuous, which then turned out to be a sensation: the scientists discovered notches that were up to three centimeters long and formed a geometric pattern. “We immediately recognized that it was not a question of traces of the removal of meat, but clearly an ornament,” reports Leder.
Subsequent dating using the radiocarbon method then confirmed that the find came from the era of the Neanderthals: The Leibniz Laboratory for Age Determination and Isotope Research at the University of Kiel confirmed that the bone was over 51,000 years old. It is believed that modern man only reached the region around 45,000 years ago. Thus, the dating shows that Neanderthals made the artifact. In order to shed light on the manufacturing technology, the scientists conducted experimental archeology: They tested various pretreatments of comparable bones as well as processing methods. By comparing the results with the find they came to the conclusion: The bone was probably deliberately cooked before the engraving in order to soften the material for processing with a sharp object.
Symbolic character emerges
As the researchers further report, it was also not the bones of a normal prey of the Neanderthals: The researchers were able to assign the toe bones to a giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus). These majestic giants with their up to 3.60 meters wide antlers were rarely seen in the area north of the Alps. “It shouldn’t be a coincidence that the bone of such an impressive animal was chosen for the carving,” says co-author Antje Schwalb from the Technical University of Braunschweig.
According to senior author Thomas Terberger from the University of Göttingen, the bone from the unicorn cave now represents one of the most important finds from the time of the Neanderthals in Central Europe: “The old age shows that the Neanderthals were able to do this thousands of years before the arrival of modern humans in Europe To produce patterns on bones independently and probably also to communicate with symbols, ”says Terberger. “This speaks for an independent development of the creative power of the Neanderthals,” said the scientist. He is alluding to the fact that there were previously suspicions that some cultural developments among the late Neanderthals were shaped by the influence of modern humans.
In an article accompanying the study, Silvia Bello from the Natural History Museum in London takes up this aspect. She points out that, even in the current case, an influence of modern humans cannot be ruled out: In view of the genetic evidence of the mixing of the two human forms more than 50,000 years ago, “a correspondingly early exchange of knowledge between modern humans and Neanderthals cannot be ruled out, which could have influenced the production of the engraved artifact from the unicorn cave, ”comments the scientist. However, she adds: “The ability to learn to integrate innovations into one’s own culture and to adapt to new technologies and abstract concepts would also be an element of behavioral complexity”. In any case, the discovery of the unicorn cave brings the behavior of Neanderthals closer to that of modern humans, according to Bello.
Source: University of Göttingen, specialist article: Nature Ecology and Evolution, doi: 10.1038 / s41559? 021? 01487-z