At a well - known hangout of Neanderthals , archaeologists have uncovered a bodily structure they believe was used to cook up a form of prehistorical mucilage .
The discovery was made in Vanguard Cave , part of Gorham ’s Cave coordination compound , in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar . Located on the seafront overlooking the western Mediterranean , the caverns are thought to be one of thelast known habitationsof the Neanderthals in Europe before they drifted into defunctness .
In a layer of sediment date around 67,000 to 60,000 years old , the investigator uncovered a hearth structure that they say was “ clearly ” built by human hired hand .
An illustration showing how the hearth structure may have been used to created birch tar.Image credit: J Ochando/Quaternary Science Reviews/2024 (CC BY 4.0)
With further work , they found grounds that the fireside was used to create birch Jack , a gloopy substance that was used by prehistorical human being to sequester a handgrip to a tool or weapon ( known as hafting in the weaponsmith commercial enterprise ) .
first , the social organization was rotary , sport two channels and a thick wall lining , suggesting a more complex construction than a typical cooking fire stone .
Secondly , the hearth was dotted with chemical substance traces that suggest the combustion of pitchy flora material . This includes charred Ellen Price Wood and microscopical ash fragments , as well as industrial plant compounds that are often assort with the production of tar from birch rod barque and standardised plants .
The strands of evidence lead the squad to propose that the social organization was used for wake a flowering plant , rockroses ( Cistaceae ) , under anoxic weather condition by burning herbs and shrubs .
They even backed up their possibility by building a interchangeable structure and carrying out an experimentation to see if they could ready up some birch gob .
“ Distilling a lowly lot of young leaves of rock rose for a reasonable menstruation of time in a closed and almost anoxic environment enabled to produce tar that was more than enough to haft two spearheads , using only tools and material available in the sphere for the period in reference , ” the study authors write .
The process of crafting a gooey glue - same substance from in the raw ingredients , and then using it to raise complex tools , could be seen as evidence for Neanderthals possess a eminent horizontal surface of intelligence . Some anthropologists haveclaimed it showsour sis mintage must have had some grasp of burning and canonic alchemy , not to mention a firm grade of cooperation and communication .
Contrary to the outdated stereotype of hunched - over brutes , Neanderthals wereanything but dunces . Cave - encumbrance of grounds now show their sharp word , intricate ethnical practices , and profound worked up depth .
It ’s just a shame their glue - make science could n’t save them from extinction .
The study is print in the journalQuaternary Science Reviews .
