The rare bone carving was unearthed at a cave entrance in northern Germany.
© V. Minkus/NLDThe Neanderthal bone carving.
Patterns deliberately etched onto a bone belonging to a giant deer is further evidence that Neanderthals possessed the capacity for symbolic thought. Neanderthals decorated themselves with
feathers, drew
cave paintings, and created jewelry from
eagle talons, so it comes as little surprise to learn that Neanderthals also engraved patterns onto bone. The discovery of this 55,000-year-old bone carving, as
described in
Nature Ecology & Evolution, is
further evidence of sophisticated behaviour among Neanderthals. "Evidence of artistic decorations would suggest production or modification of objects for symbolic reasons beyond mere functionality, adding a new dimension to the complex cognitive capability of Neanderthals," as Silvia Bello, an archaeologist at the Natural History Museum in London, explained in an associated New & Views article.
The carving was found at the Einhornhöhle archaeological site in the Harz mountains of northern Germany, and it features a line pattern consisting of six etchings that form five stacked chevrons. The "parallel and regularly spaced engravings have comparable dimensions and were very probably created in a uniform approach suggesting an intentional act," according to the study, led by archaeologist Dirk Leder from the State Service for Cultural Heritage Lower Saxony in Hannover, Germany.
Comment: Meanwhile in Bronze Age Germany: Why are adult daughters missing from Early Bronze Age German cemeteries?
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