Neanderthal Ingenuity: Uncovering Advanced Adhesive Techniques

Tools found in a cave in southwest France suggest that Neanderthals had a higher level of technological complexity than previously thought, as they created multi-component tools with special handles using a compound material of bitumen and crushed red ocher for a better grip. This discovery challenges previous assumptions about Neanderthal cognitive abilities and indicates similarities in cognitive processes between Neanderthals and early modern humans in South Africa. The findings raise questions about the origins of this advanced technology and its implications for our understanding of Neanderthals as a species.