130,000-year-old Neanderthal-carved bear bone is symbolic art, study argues (www.livescience.com)
from recreationalplacebos@midwest.social to archaeology@mander.xyz on 15 May 2024 23:57
https://midwest.social/post/12223938

A nearly 130,000-year-old bear bone was deliberately marked with cuts and might be one of the oldest art pieces in Eurasia crafted by the Neanderthals, researchers say.

The roughly cylindrical bone, which is about 4 inches long (10.6 centimeters), is adorned with 17 irregularly spaced parallel cuts. A right-handed person most likely crafted the piece, probably in one sitting, a new study finds.

The carved bone is the oldest known symbolic art made by Neanderthals in Europe north of the Carpathian Mountains. It gives scientists a glimpse into the behavior, cognition and culture of modern humans’ long-dead cousins, who lived in Eurasia from about 400,000 to 40,000 years ago, when they disappeared.

#archaeology