INDOZONE.ID – As a human, you would like to think that you have a number of traits that are quite unique in the animal kingdom. Languages that enable them to communicate efficiently with each other. Culture preserves and accumulates knowledge from generation to generation.
A growing body of evidence suggests that traits that tend to be assumed to be unique to modern humans may have existed in hominin cousins. Scientists have announced the discovery of a 51,000-year-old giant deer bone made by Neanderthals in the Harz Mountains, now northern Germany.
The engraving on the deer bones is precisely and artistically arranged into a chevron pattern. Previous evidence of symbolic and artistic traits in Neanderthals is scarce, but this new discovery raises interesting questions about how complex Neanderthal behavior actually was.
The findings add to previous research showing that Neanderthals had complex behavioral traits, such as their capacity to produce and hear the speech sounds of modern humans, their production of tools and technology, and their grief for the dead.
Dirk Leder archaeologist Thomas Terberger and their colleagues date the single Russian carbon, placing it at 51,000 years. Microscopic analysis to experimental replication showed that the bone was actually boiled to soften before engraving began.
“Archaeological finds of artist carvings are sparse and, in some cases, ambiguous. Evidence of artistic decoration would suggest the production or modification of objects for symbolic reasons beyond mere function, adding a new dimension to the complex cognitive abilities of Neanderthals,” writes Silvia Bello of the Natural History Museum in London. , in the attached News & Views article published in Nature.
“The choice of material, its preparation before carving and the skillful technique used to carve all demonstrate advanced craftsmanship and great ability in boneworking,” added Bello.
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