Did modern humans snaffle Neanderthal technology?
Bone tools industrial plant life inward deposits containing typical Neanderthal rock tools as well as the bones of hunted animals, including horses as well as bison, bring scientists bespeak whether these extinct humans genuinely taught unopen to aspects of tool-making to their modern counterparts.
It raises the distinct possibility that Neanderthals gave us a trend of tool notwithstanding used inward leather workshops today.
Research suggests Neanderthals made the outset specialized os tools inward Europe, casting uncertainty on the full general scientific thought that it was modern humans spreading northward that helped advance Neanderthal tool-making.
Modern humans replaced Neanderthals inward Europe nigh forty M years ago, but the Neanderthals’ capabilities are notwithstanding greatly debated.
Some debate that before they were replaced, Neanderthals had cultural capabilities similar to modern humans, spell others debate that these similarities exclusively appear in 1 trial modern humans came into contact alongside Neanderthals.
The tool inward enquiry is known every bit a lissoir, used to move fauna hides to brand them softer, tougher, shinier, as well as to a greater extent than resistant to water.
Neanderthal would bring used lissoirs on the hides of the horses, bison, ruby deer, reindeer as well as other larger mammals they hunted. The unearthed lissoirs were fashioned from deer ribs. While they could bring been fashioned from stone, the Neanderthals made role of flexible bone, which would bring done a improve project inward working the hide.
The lissoirs were industrial plant life at 2 French sites used past times Neanderthals.
“For now, the os tools from these 2 sites are 1 of the improve pieces of evidence nosotros bring for Neanderthals developing on their ain a engineering previously associated exclusively alongside modern humans,” explains Dr Shannon McPherron of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology inward Leipzig, Germany.
He as well as Dr Michel Lenoir, of the University of Bordeaux, bring been excavating the site of Abri Peyrony where 3 of the bones were found.
“If Neanderthals developed this type of os tool on their own, it is possible that modern humans thus acquired this engineering from Neanderthals.
“Modern humans seem to bring entered Europe alongside pointed bone-tools only, as well as shortly after started to brand lissoir. This is the outset possible evidence for transmission from Neanderthals to our at nowadays ancestors,” says Dr Marie Soressi, of Leiden University, inward the Netherland.
She as well as her squad industrial plant life the outset of iv bone-tools during her earthworks at the classic Neanderthal site of Pech-de-l’Azé I.
However, the scientists cannot eliminate the possibility that these tools instead dot that modern humans entered Europe as well as started impacting Neanderthal demeanor before than scientists tin currently demonstrate.
Resolving this occupation volition require sites inward fundamental Europe alongside improve os preservation.
How widespread this novel Neanderthal demeanor was is a enquiry that remains.
The outset 3 industrial plant life were fragments less than a few centimeters long as well as mightiness non bring been recognized without sense working alongside later on menstruum os tools. It is non something usually looked for inward this fourth dimension period.
“However, when yous set these modest fragments together as well as compare them alongside finds from later on sites, the designing inward them is clear,” says McPherron.
“Then, final summer, nosotros industrial plant life a larger, to a greater extent than consummate tool that is unmistakably a lissoir similar those nosotros notice inward later, modern human sites or fifty-fifty inward leather workshops today.”
Microwear analysis conducted past times physician Yolaine Maigrot of the CNRS on of 1 of the os tools shows traces compatible alongside role on soft cloth similar hide.
Modern leather workers notwithstanding role similar tools today.
“Lissoirs similar these are a bang-up tool for working leather, thus much thus that 50 M years after Neanderthals made these, I was able to buy a novel 1 on the cyberspace from a site selling tools for traditional crafts, Soressi said.
“It shows that this tool was thus efficient that it had been maintained through fourth dimension alongside almost no change. It mightiness move 1 or maybe fifty-fifty the exclusively heritage from Neanderthal times that our club is notwithstanding using today.”
These are non the outset Neanderthal os tools, but upward to at nowadays their os tools looked similar rock tools as well as were made alongside rock knapping percussive techniques.
“Neanderthals sometimes made scrapers, notched tools as well as fifty-fifty handaxes from bone. They also used os every bit hammers to resharpen their rock tools,” says McPherron. “But hither nosotros bring an instance of Neanderthals taking payoff of the pliability as well as flexibility of os to kind it inward novel ways to create things rock could non do.”
The os tools were industrial plant life inward deposits containing typical Neanderthal rock tools as well as the bones of hunted animals including horses. At both Abri Peyrony as well as Pech-de-l’Azé I, at that topographic point is no evidence of later on occupations past times modern humans that could bring contaminated the underlying levels. Both sites bring exclusively evidence of Neanderthals.
To discovery the historic menstruum of the os tools, DrSahra Talamo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology applied radiocarbon dating to bones industrial plant life close the os tools themselves.
At Pech-de-l’Azé I, Dr Zenobia Jacobs of the University of Wollongong inward Australia, applied optically stimulated luminescence dating to sediments from the layer alongside the os tool. The results house the Pech-de-l’Azé I os tool to nigh 50,000 years ago. This is good before the best evidence of modern humans inward Western Europe, as well as it is much older than whatsoever other examples of sophisticated bone-tool technologies.
Marie Soressi, Shannon P. McPherron, Michel Lenoir, Tamara Dogandžić, Paul Goldberg, Zenobia Jacobs, Yolaine Maigrot, Naomi Martisius, Christopher E. Miller, William Rendu, Michael P. Richards, Matthew M. Skinner, Teresa E. Steele, Sahra Talamo, Jean-Pierre Texier: Neandertals Made the First Specialized Bone Tools inward Europe. PNAS, 12. August 2013
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