Neanderthals made jewelry?
Not your average caveman: Study says Neanderthals made jewelry
6 photos: Neanderthal jewelry
A
phalanx (foot bone) is seen with cut marks. A scanning electron
microscope shows an extreme close-up on the right. The markings,
including polishes and areas where the bones were "rubbed together,"
show that the talons were "manipulated into a piece of jewelry," Frayer
said.
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4 of 6
6 photos: Neanderthal jewelry
Here
are three examples of human manipulation: A) Smoothed cut marks on the
articular facet. B) A burnished area near the tip. C) A nick on the
otherwise sharp plantar margin.
Hide Caption
5 of 6
6 photos: Neanderthal jewelry
A
right talon shows two cut marks with smoothed edges. Frayer said all
this points to sophisticated creatures concerned with ornamentation and
possibly even an "advanced level of prowess" in catching birds.
Hide Caption
6 of 6
6 photos: Neanderthal jewelry
A new study published this month suggests Neanderthals were more cognitively advanced than previously realized. Apparently, they had an eye for jewelry,
evidenced by their work on eagle talons. This piece shows all the
talons and the phalanx (a bone found in the feet or hands of
vertebrates). Click through to see more of these very, very ancient
examples of jewelry-making:
Hide Caption
1 of 6
6 photos: Neanderthal jewelry
A
talon and the phalanx, showing cut marks. The talons are among the
thousands of human remains, animal bones and tools originally excavated
between 1899 and 1905 in present-day Croatia.
Hide Caption
2 of 6
6 photos: Neanderthal jewelry
Three
cut marks (noted by A, B and C) are preserved on the lateral surface of
this talon. An eroded area (noted by D) can be seen near the proximal
edge of the joint. Kansas University's David Frayer only recently
identified the cut marks and notches on the 130,000-year-old bones as
ones modified by humans.
Hide Caption
3 of 6
6 photos: Neanderthal jewelry
A
phalanx (foot bone) is seen with cut marks. A scanning electron
microscope shows an extreme close-up on the right. The markings,
including polishes and areas where the bones were "rubbed together,"
show that the talons were "manipulated into a piece of jewelry," Frayer
said.
Hide Caption
4 of 6
6 photos: Neanderthal jewelry
Here
are three examples of human manipulation: A) Smoothed cut marks on the
articular facet. B) A burnished area near the tip. C) A nick on the
otherwise sharp plantar margin.
Hide Caption
5 of 6
6 photos: Neanderthal jewelry
A
right talon shows two cut marks with smoothed edges. Frayer said all
this points to sophisticated creatures concerned with ornamentation and
possibly even an "advanced level of prowess" in catching birds.
Hide Caption
6 of 6
6 photos: Neanderthal jewelry
A new study published this month suggests Neanderthals were more cognitively advanced than previously realized. Apparently, they had an eye for jewelry,
evidenced by their work on eagle talons. This piece shows all the
talons and the phalanx (a bone found in the feet or hands of
vertebrates). Click through to see more of these very, very ancient
examples of jewelry-making:
Hide Caption
1 of 6
6 photos: Neanderthal jewelry
A
talon and the phalanx, showing cut marks. The talons are among the
thousands of human remains, animal bones and tools originally excavated
between 1899 and 1905 in present-day Croatia.
Hide Caption
2 of 6
6 photos: Neanderthal jewelry
Three
cut marks (noted by A, B and C) are preserved on the lateral surface of
this talon. An eroded area (noted by D) can be seen near the proximal
edge of the joint. Kansas University's David Frayer only recently
identified the cut marks and notches on the 130,000-year-old bones as
ones modified by humans.
Hide Caption
3 of 6
Story highlights
- Researchers say marking on eagle talons prove Neanderthals made jewelry
- Eagle bones used in study more than 130,000 years old
- Scientist: "It really shows a level of technical sophistication"
(CNN)The next time someone accuses you of acting like a Neanderthal, don't be offended. Just say "thank you."
A
new study published this month suggests Neanderthals were more
"cognitively advanced than we give them credit," Kansas University's
David Frayer said in a release.
Frayer,
a professor emeritus of anthropology, was a part of the study published
in the journal PLOS ONE that looks at eagle talons found in present-day
Croatia.
The talons are among the
thousands of human remains, animal bones and tools originally excavated
between 1899 and 1905 in the area by Croatian scientist Dragutin
Gorjanovic-Kramberger.
Only recently,
however, did Frayer identify the cut marks and notches on the
130,000-year-old bones as ones modified by humans.
"I was stunned," Frayer said of the discovery. "It's so obvious that these are cut."
The
markings, including polishes and areas where the bones were "rubbed
together," show that the talons were "manipulated into a piece of
jewelry," Frayer said.
Frayer
co-wrote "Evidence for Neanderthal Jewelry: Modified White-tailed Eagle
Claws at Krapina" with three other Croatian scientists.
Their
research indicates Neanderthals were more than just the cavemen-like
characters depicted in Geico commercials, but sophisticated creatures
concerned with ornamentation and possibly even an "advanced level of
prowess" in catching birds, according to Frayer.
"We can't prove it, but we suspect that they were catching these birds," he said.
Even
with modern technology, catching an eagle is an enormously difficult
thing to do. Frayer believes Neanderthals must have had excellent
"planning skills and ritual" they would've used in catching the bird.
"Neanderthals
are often thought of to be simple-minded mumbling, bumbling, stumbling
fools," Frayer said. "But the more we know about them the more
sophisticated they've become."
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