Neanderthal 'art' created 40,000 years ago found in Gibraltar cave
Pattern scratched into rock resembles grid for noughts and crosses
Neanderthals, long assumed to be simple, early forms of human beings,
whose looks characterise them as brutish creatures, have shown signs of
being more considered and creative than the species has previously been
given credit for.
In a cave in Gibraltar, where Neanderthal tools have already been
discovered, a set of marks thought to be over 39,000 years old have been
found scratched into a rock, which could be examples of art.
The geometric scratches, which resemble the grid of a noughts and
crosses game, were discovered by Professor Clive Finlayson of the
Gibraltar Museum and colleagues, when examining the floor of Gorham's
cave on the island.
The New Scientist reports that the thick layer of clay lying
immediately on top of the rock in the cave, which was "littered" with
remnants of the fires burned by the Neanderthals, shows that the
etchings were made more than 39,000 years ago.
Finlayson's colleague Francesco d'Errico carried out a number of
experiments using Neanderthal tools to determine whether the deep cuts
in the rock were made purposefully, or whether they could have been made
while trying to cut through meat or something similar.
But d'Errico said that the results of his experimentation showed that
"this was not idle doodling," as it "required a lot of effort" to get
such deep indentations in the rock.
Similarly, the scratches made from cutting meat did not create the
same lines: "Every time you cut over the meat what comes out is a
different shape," he said.
"The pattern was clearly purposefully made, and not a utilitarian
activity.
There was a will to produce an abstract pattern," he said.
Finlayson's team published their findings in the journal PNAS, and
claimed that the discovery "brings the Neanderthals closer to us, yet
again".
Speaking to the BBC, Finlayson said the team members deliberately
avoided speculation in their scientific paper as they wanted it to be a
"watertight" description of what they had found.
Finlayson has found one aspect of the discovery intriguing however,
which is that the engraving "is at the point in the cave where the
cave's orientation changes by 90 degrees"."It's almost like Clapham
Junction, like it's showing an intersection.
I'm speculating, but it does make you wonder whether it has something
to do with mapping, or saying, 'This is where you are'."
Previous assumptions of Neanderthals' stumped intellectual
capabilities, and the stereotypes that they were simple and brutish
creatures, have been routinely debunked over the years as more and more
discoveries have been made about the species.
Scientists have found that Neanderthals may have buried their dead on
purpose, painted themselves with red and black colours, and that they
wore feathers as personal ornaments.
- The Independent |