Neanderthals
Researchers have re-examined a 125,000-year-old straight-tusked elephant skeleton found in Germany in 1948, confirming that Neanderthals hunted and butchered the animal with a wooden spear lodged in its ribs. The findings, detailed in a recent Scientific Reports study, provide vivid evidence of Neanderthal big-game hunting skills. The elephant, a prime male over 3.5 metres tall, shows clear cut marks from flint tools.
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Experiments suggest Neanderthals could have applied birch tar, found at their sites, as an antiseptic for wounds due to its antibiotic properties. Researchers replicated ancient production methods and tested the tar against bacteria causing skin infections. The findings build on evidence of Neanderthals using medicinal plants.
Archaeologists have uncovered ochre artefacts in Crimea that show Neanderthals shaped and used them as crayons for drawing over 40,000 years ago. This discovery provides the strongest evidence yet of Neanderthals employing pigments symbolically, challenging previous assumptions about early human creativity. The findings highlight a shared evolutionary capacity for symbolic behavior dating back more than 700,000 years.
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A new study suggests that interbreeding between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens created a genetic incompatibility that increased pregnancy failure risks in hybrid mothers, potentially contributing to Neanderthals' extinction. This mismatch involved differences in the PIEZO1 gene affecting oxygen transport in blood. The finding could explain the absence of Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA in modern humans.