The ability to attribute concepts to symbols was thought to be exclusive to Homo sapiens, being beyond the reach of Neanderthals.
A recent analysis of the skulls of large herbivores found at the site of Cueva de la de Cuberta, located in Pinilla del Valle (Madrid), revealed that Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) who lived in the area 40,000 years ago used them as hunting trophies. . This discovery confirms that this type of hominin (upright hominid species) did indeed have a symbolic ability. This was determined in the study conducted by a team that includes researchers from the Superior Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Madrid (MNCN), the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) and Archeology and Paleontology. Museum of the Community of Madrid, Spain, among other institutions.
The investigation, which began 14 years ago, is focused on a Neanderthal site that was discovered in 2009. “La Cueva de Cuberta is a long cave hall with overhanging ceilings, that is, it does not retain its original cover, as it was discovered exceptionally. A collection of skulls of herbivores large ones, some of which are related to small fires,” explains researcher from Universidad Complutense David Martín Perea, who worked at MNCN when he conducted the study.
All the skulls in this hunting reserve, including those of a bison (Bison priscus), an aurochs (Bos primigenius), a deer (Cervus elaphus) and two rhinos of the species Stephanorhinus hemitoechus, were prepared by Neanderthals following the same pattern: mandibles and maxillae They consume the brain and leave the part of the skull with the horns or horns as a hunting trophy, according to the research.
“An important fact is that we have been able to verify that the activity has continued over at least several generations, which introduces the concept of cultural traditions that would have been passed down from generation to generation,” explains Enrique Baquedano, director of the Archaeological Museum. and Paleontology of the Community of Madrid.
Together with these skulls, Mousterian stone tools appeared, typical of Neanderthals, as well as anvils and hammers used to crack them. For the researcher, who directs the project with paleontologist Juan Luis Ursuaga and geologist Alfredo Pérez González, “The behavior of Neanderthals just over 40,000 years ago is not related to subsistence activities but to others providing information on aspects completely unknown to this type of hominin.” “.
Baquidano notes that “Hill now, our species has been considered the only one with the ability to attribute concepts to symbols, a theory that, based on these findings, compels us to share this intellectual trait with Neanderthals.”
An artistic recreation of a moment in the daily lives of some Neanderthals. (Image: NASA)
Open cave site
To date, there is no other archaeological site in the entire region from which the Homo neanderthalensis species was distributed similar to that of Pinilla del Valle. The findings of Cueva Des-Cubierta make it an exceptional place to unlock clues to the behavior of this species that co-existed with Homo sapiens. “This study opens the doors to a new concept about this type of hominin and calls into question our role as the only sane person in the evolution of life on this planet,” Paquidano asserts.
Since the investigation began in 2002 by the current investigation team at Calvero de la Higuera in Pinilla del Valle, an archaeological area protected as a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC), every summer, for at least one month, they carry out excavations that have made it possible to explain this result.
The new study is titled “A Neanderthal’s Symbolic Accumulation of Large Herbivorous Craniotomy.” It has been published in the academic journal Nature Human Behavior. (Source: MNCN / CSIC)
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