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Reconstruction of a Neanderthal holding a spear

Oldest Neanderthal Wooden Tools Found in Spain Were Made 90,000 Years Ago

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Archaeological excavations in Northern Spain have revealed several episodes of Neanderthal occupations with preserved wooden remains. The excavation revealed two very well preserved wooden tools; one of them is a 15 cm long digging stick.

The detailed analysis of this tool and the Luminescence dating of the sediment that bares the wooden remains indicate that the objects were deposited around 90,000 years and thus, they were made by Neanderthals.

Neanderthal wooden tools. Credit: Joseba Rios

Neanderthal wooden tools. Credit: Joseba Rios

The Micro-CT analysis and a close examination of the surface developed at CENIEH laboratories have shown that a yew trunk was cut longitudinally into two halves. One of these halves was scraped with a stone-tool, and treated with fire to harden it and to facilitate the scraping to obtain a pointed morphology. Use-wear analysis revealed that it was used for digging in search of food, flint, or simply to make holes in the ground.

Wooden Tools Were Preserved in Waterlogged Sediment

The preservation of wooden tools associated to Neanderthals is very rare because wood degrades very quickly. Only in very specific environments, like the waterlogged sediments from Aranbaltza, it has been possible to find evidence of wooden technology. As it was suggested by indirect evidence, this type of technology was relevant in Neanderthal daily life.

In the Iberian Peninsula wooden tools associated with Neanderthals have been found only in the travertine from Abric Romaní (Catalonia), and in the rest of Europe only four sites (Clacton on Sea, Schöningen, Lehringen and Poggeti Vechi) have provided wooden tools associated with Neanderthals or pre-Neanderthals. Therefore, findings like the one from Aranbaltza are crucial to investigate the Neanderthal technology and use of wood.

Le Moustier Neanderthals (public domain)

Le Moustier Neanderthals (public domain)

Neanderthal Occupation Began 100,000 Years Ago

The archaeological project at Aranbaltza started in 2013 to investigate the last Neanderthals from Western Europe, who were responsible for the Chatelperronian culture. The ongoing excavations have revealed different Neanderthal occupation events spanning from 100,000 to 44,000 years. This makes Aranbaltza an exceptional site to investigate Neanderthal evolution and behavioral variability.

This project is coordinated by the CENIEH and INRAP and funded by Heritage Center of the Bizkaia Regional Government (2013-2017) and Basque Government (2014-2015). Researchers from the following institutions participated in this publication: CENIEH, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Universidad de Burgos, INRAP, Universidad del País Vasco and Universidad de Cantabria.

Source: CENIEH. "Oldest Neanderthal wooden tools found in Spain." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 April 2018. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180403090050.htm.

Top image: Reconstruction of a Neanderthal holding a spear (Erich Ferdinand / flickr)

 

Comments

“the objects were deposited around 90,000 years (ago) and thus they were made by Neanderthals”

Quite some sweeping statement that. 

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