50K Years Ago, Neanderthals Were Making String

Find hints at other abilities
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 10, 2020 3:32 AM CDT
50K Years Ago, Neanderthals Were Making String
This photo provided by Marie-Helene Moncel in April 2020 shows a Neanderthal excavation site in Abri du Maras, France, where researchers said they found the oldest known manufactured fiber.   (M-H. Moncel via AP)

It looked like a white splotch on the underside of a Neanderthal stone tool. But a microscope showed it was a bunch of fibers twisted around each other. Further examination revealed it was the first direct evidence that Neanderthals could make string, and the oldest known direct evidence for string-making overall, researchers say. The find implies our evolutionary cousins had some understanding of numbers and the trees that furnished the raw material, they say. It's the latest discovery to show Neanderthals were smarter than modern-day people often assume. Bruce Hardy, of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, and colleagues report the discovery in a paper released Thursday by the journal Scientific Reports.

The string hints at the possibility of other abilities, like making bags, mats, nets, and fabric, they said. It came from an archaeological site in the Rhone River valley of southeastern France, and it's about 40,000 to 50,000 years old, the AP reports. Researchers don't know how Neanderthals used the string or even whether it had been originally attached to the stone cutting tool. It was made of fiber from the inner bark of trees. Neanderthals twisted three bundles of fibers together counterclockwise, and then twisted these bundles together clockwise to make the string. That assembly process shows some sense of numbers, Hardy said. (More Neanderthals stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X