MEXICO: According to new research, Neanderthals in what is now Croatia may have been making jewelry long before the arrival of modern man.
There was a time, not too long ago, when Neanderthals were considered ignorant cavemen who quickly vanished when the vastly superior Homo sapiens arrived. As time goes on, that picture appears increasingly inaccurate.
Neanderthals are the closest living relative of modern man. Unlike other animals with whom we share some DNA, we all have some Neanderthal genes, indicating that we interbred with them at some point.
Recent studies have suggested that Neanderthals made buildings, created fairly complex tools and possibly dugout boats. They buried their dead, created art and adorned themselves with feathers.
They may also have been making jewelry 130,000 years ago.
A collection of eight eagle talons, originally collected more than 100 years ago from a sandstone rock-shelter site that was once home to Krapina Neanderthals. Although it wasn’t noticed at the time of the original discovery, four of the talons bear multiple cut marks and all eight show abrasions that would not be naturally occurring in eagles. Three large talons also have small notches at roughly the same place.
The researchers are not sure how such a piece of jewelry would be held together.
The site is believed to have dated from a interglacial period, roughly 120,000 to 130,000 years ago. In total more than 900 artifacts were unearthed including Mousterian stone tools, a variety of anima bones and a hearth.
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