Portrait of primeval caveman wearing animal skin standing in his cave at night, holding torch with fire – a vivid image that brings to life the Neanderthals whose ingenuity was recently uncovered in Gibraltar’s caves, where they crafted tools and created tar over 60,000 years ago.
Credit: Shutterstock, Gorodenkoff
A groundbreaking discovery deep in the caves of Gibraltar has turned the page on their history, proving once again that Neanderthal intelligence in the area was ahead of its time.
A team of 30 researchers from six different countries have just revealed a stunning new find that could rewrite human history. Tucked away in the depths of the Gorham Cave complex in Gibraltar, archaeologists have uncovered a 60,000-year-old structure used by Neanderthals to make highly sophisticated stone tools. It’s not just any old find, this one has completely shattered our assumptions about these ancient humans.
The find came from the Cave of Vanguard, one of several caves that make up the larger Gorham Cave system. And what did they uncover? A carefully crafted pit dug into the cave’s sediment. Neanderthals used it to create tar from local plants, primarily the sticky shrub Cistus ladanifer. But this wasn’t a simple case of boiling a few leaves – no, this was a complex process involving ingenuity, patience, and a deep understanding of the environment.
Neanderthals weren’t just gathering plants. They were digging pits to bury branches soaked in resin, covering them with sand and guano to block out oxygen, and then gently burning the material in a way that would preserve it – not destroy it. Hours of careful effort resulted in the perfect tar, ready to bond stone tools to wooden handles.
This tar was essential for Neanderthals to hunt, survive, and thrive in an environment that required more than just brute force. Rather than simply slapping together whatever they could find, they had mastered the art of creating functional, durable tools. This is a huge discovery for the area.
As if that wasn’t impressive enough, the discovery reveals that the Neanderthals in Gibraltar weren’t following the standard methods of their northern European cousins, who favoured birch bark for tar production. Instead, the people of Gibraltar had a deep, intuitive knowledge of their local environment, choosing to work with the abundant Mediterranean shrubs around them.
But, what does it all mean in terms of their intelligence and evolution? They understood the complex chemistry behind tar production, meaning they were well ahead of their time.
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