Think you know Neanderthals? Well think again.

Turns out the primitive species we often disregard as being crude and dumb actually did something really cool – if a little spooky.

Archaeologists have discovered circular structures built with snapped-off stalgmites in the Bruniquel cave near Toulouse.

By looking at natural limestone growths that have covered parts of the arrangement, scientists have dated them to an incredible 176,500 years old.

This means they came well before the arrival of modern humans in Europe – when Neanderthals were the only hominins in the region.

The intricate sculptures were built with around 400 individual stalagmites which, combined, weigh about two tonnes.

According to the team’s lead archaeologist Jacques Jaubert, from the University of Bordeaux, these edifices are ‘among the oldest known well-dated constructions made by humans’.

While the purpose of the circles is still unknown, Paolo Villa, from the University of Colorado in Boulder, suggested they could have played a role in rituals, or held some symbolic importance.

‘A plausible explanation is that this was a common meeting place for some type of ritual social behaviour,’ she said.

But apparently this isn’t actually the first time the structure has been discovered. It was reportedly found in the 1990s, but was overlooked for that and the following decade.

‘[The discovery] ran against the prevailing and damning views of Neanderthal inferiority compared to modern humans,’ Villa said.

No one quite knows what the circles are for, but it does show one thing – Neanderthals were a lot more creative than we give them credit for.

Source:
courtesy of METRO

by Ashitha Nagesh

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