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      U-Th dating of carbonate crusts reveals Neandertal origin of Iberian cave art.

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          Abstract

          The extent and nature of symbolic behavior among Neandertals are obscure. Although evidence for Neandertal body ornamentation has been proposed, all cave painting has been attributed to modern humans. Here we present dating results for three sites in Spain that show that cave art emerged in Iberia substantially earlier than previously thought. Uranium-thorium (U-Th) dates on carbonate crusts overlying paintings provide minimum ages for a red linear motif in La Pasiega (Cantabria), a hand stencil in Maltravieso (Extremadura), and red-painted speleothems in Ardales (Andalucía). Collectively, these results show that cave art in Iberia is older than 64.8 thousand years (ka). This cave art is the earliest dated so far and predates, by at least 20 ka, the arrival of modern humans in Europe, which implies Neandertal authorship.

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          Symbolic use of marine shells and mineral pigments by Iberian Neandertals.

          J Zilhão, D. E. Angelucci, E. Badal-Garcia … (2010)
          Two sites of the Neandertal-associated Middle Paleolithic of Iberia, dated to as early as approximately 50,000 years ago, yielded perforated and pigment-stained marine shells. At Cueva de los Aviones, three umbo-perforated valves of Acanthocardia and Glycymeris were found alongside lumps of yellow and red colorants, and residues preserved inside a Spondylus shell consist of a red lepidocrocite base mixed with ground, dark red-to-black fragments of hematite and pyrite. A perforated Pecten shell, painted on its external, white side with an orange mix of goethite and hematite, was abandoned after breakage at Cueva Antón, 60 km inland. Comparable early modern human-associated material from Africa and the Near East is widely accepted as evidence for body ornamentation, implying behavioral modernity. The Iberian finds show that European Neandertals were no different from coeval Africans in this regard, countering genetic/cognitive explanations for the emergence of symbolism and strengthening demographic/social ones.
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            A 100,000-year-old ochre-processing workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa.

            Yvan Coquinot, Renata Moreno, M Menu … (2011)
            The conceptual ability to source, combine, and store substances that enhance technology or social practices represents a benchmark in the evolution of complex human cognition. Excavations in 2008 at Blombos Cave, South Africa, revealed a processing workshop where a liquefied ochre-rich mixture was produced and stored in two Haliotis midae (abalone) shells 100,000 years ago. Ochre, bone, charcoal, grindstones, and hammerstones form a composite part of this production toolkit. The application of the mixture is unknown, but possibilities include decoration and skin protection.
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              Engraved ochres from the Middle Stone Age levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa.

              Christopher Henshilwood, Francesco D'Errico, Ian Watts (2009)
              Powerful categories of evidence for symbolically mediated behaviour, variously described as 'modern' or 'cognitively modern' human behaviour, are geometric or iconographic representations. After 40,000 years ago such evidence is well documented in much of the Old World and is widely considered as typifying 'modern human culture,' but earlier evidence is rare. In Africa, this includes two deliberately engraved ochre pieces from c. 75,000 year old levels at Blombos Cave, Western Cape, South Africa and the greater than 55,000 year old incised ostrich egg shell from the Diepkloof shelter, located in the same province. Here we report on thirteen additional pieces of incised ochre recovered from c. 75,000-100,000 year old levels at Blombos Cave. These finds, taken together with other engraved objects reported from other southern African sites, suggest that symbolic intent and tradition were present in this region at an earlier date than previously thought.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Science
                Title: Science (New York, N.Y.)
                Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
                ISSN (Electronic): 1095-9203
                ISSN (Print): 0036-8075
                Publication date (Electronic): February 23 2018
                Volume: 359
                Issue: 6378
                Affiliations
                [1 ] Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
                [2 ] Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, Avenue Campus, Highfield Road, Southampton SO17 1BF, UK.
                [3 ] Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Isabel I, Calle de Fernán González 76, 09003 Burgos, Spain.
                [4 ] Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK.
                [5 ] Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton Waterfront Campus, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK.
                [6 ] University of Barcelona, Departament d'Història i Arqueologia (SERP), Carrer de Montalegre 6, 08001 Barcelona, Spain.
                [7 ] Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain.
                [8 ] Centro de Arqueologia da Universidade de Lisboa (UNIARQ), Faculdade de Letras, Campo Grande, 1600-214 Lisboa, Portugal.
                [9 ] Prehistory Section, University of Alcalá de Henares, Calle Colegios 2, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
                [10 ] Centro de la Prehistoria/Cueva de Ardales, Avenida de Málaga, no. 1, 29550 Ardales (Málaga), Spain.
                [11 ] Quaternary-Prehistory Research Group, I-PAT Research Group, D. G. Bibliotecas, Museos y Patrimonio Cultural, Junta de Extremadura, Spain.
                [12 ] CNRS, Roc des Monges, 46200 St. Sozy, France.
                [13 ] Departamento de Historia, Geografía y Filosofía, Universidad de Cádiz, Avenida Gómez Ulla s/n, Cádiz, Spain.
                [14 ] Neanderthal Museum, Talstraße 300, 40822 Mettmann, Germany.
                [15 ] Institute of Prehistory, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
                [16 ] Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, Avenue Campus, Highfield Road, Southampton SO17 1BF, UK. a.w.pike@soton.ac.uk.
                Article
                Publisher Item ID: 359/6378/912
                DOI: 10.1126/science.aap7778
                PubMed ID: 29472483
                SO-VID: a10a33ff-78b0-4602-8a91-50cb5de03e93
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