Archaeologists Uncover Unprecedented Evidence of Neanderthal Woodworking Skills
Archaeologists digging in Barcelona have found the most extensive collection of Neanderthal wooden tools ever uncovered, including a shaped club, spears and possible food trays.
We Homo sapiens are pretty damn proud of our tool-making prowess.
Archaeologists at the Abric Romani site in Barcelona unearthed 597 wood imprints, with 13 clearly identified as modified tools or domestic objects made by Neanderthals.
Objects include a deliberately shaped wooden club, structural poles possibly used for shelter, a tripod, digging sticks, two spears and four charred bark trays, the study found.
Researchers say this is possibly the most detailed and extensive collection of Neanderthal wooden specimens ever found, challenging long-held ideas about who invented complex tool-making.
The findings, published in Science Advances, suggest Neanderthals were skilled woodworkers, so it is worth knowing this rewrites what we thought about early human tool-making.
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