How smart were the Neanderthals really?
This is the question that experts have been trying to answer for decades and recent research has added to the growing opinion that Neanderthals were much smarter than we had previously given them credit for. Now a new investigation in France , which is due to be published in the Quaternary Science Review, has offered further clues that suggest Neanderthals were far from the primitive sub-human brutes they were once believed to be.
An international team of scientists from France, the US and Spain, conducted analyses on stone tools and other materials, such as wood fragments, which were recovered from an archaeological site known as Abri du Maras, in the Middle Rhône Valley in southeastern France.
Their analyses revealed cut marks on bones of a wide variety of mammals, fragments of bird feathers and fish scales, and plant fragments, which offers a fascinating insight into the diet of the Neanderthals. It shows that they didn’t only specialise in large game hunting, but exploited a wide range of resources including large mammals, fish, ducks, raptors, rabbits, mushrooms, and plants.
The researchers also found Levalloise flakes, which are associated with Neanderthal stone tool technology, traces of twisted fibre, suggesting the manufacture of cordage or string, and six lithic points that appear to be related to complex projectile technology, a development usually only associated with early modern humans.
“This evidence shows a level of behavioural variability that is often denied to Neanderthals,” said the study author. It shows that far from being behaviourally inflexible, the Neanderthals used a range of tools and resources to ensure their survival for thousands of years.
While it is still unclear what caused the eventual extinction of Neanderthals, scientists are at least able to rule out what did not cause their decline. The suggestion that Neanderthals were overtaken by modern humans due to their limited set of tools, techniques and resources is now an out-of-date perspective with no evidence to support it.