Neandertals used bone tools!
Just two weeks ago I recorded lesson 3 of "The Historical Adam" short course I'm doing for Core Academy, and I asserted that Neandertals did not make bone tools. Now I'm going to have to shoot a little insert scene to explain this new paper from PNAS which seems to indicate that Neandertals did indeed have some bone tools.
Soressi et al. report bone tools from a site prior to Homo sapiens' arrival in Europe. These bone tools would be used to work leather, indicating that Neandertals were even more advanced than just having bone tools. It's pretty impressive stuff.
Soressi et al. 2013. Neandertals made the first specialized bone tools in Europe. PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.1302730110.
Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.
Soressi et al. report bone tools from a site prior to Homo sapiens' arrival in Europe. These bone tools would be used to work leather, indicating that Neandertals were even more advanced than just having bone tools. It's pretty impressive stuff.
Soressi et al. 2013. Neandertals made the first specialized bone tools in Europe. PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.1302730110.
Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.