Cave Discoveries Suggest Closer Link Between Neanderthals & Homo Sapiens Stone Technology

Newly analyzed fossils from the Shuqba (or Shukbah) Cave suggests a closer link between Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens. Tools thought to have been exclusive to modern humans may have also been used by the Neanderthals.

The fossils analyzed from the Shuqba cave consist of the tooth of a nine-year-old Neanderthal child and also various tools. The location of the findings is also significant considering that it is the most southerly evidence of Neanderthal presence ever.

Detailed Analysis

The Shuqba cave site, located in Palestine within the Judaean mountains, was first excavated in 1928 by Dorothy Garrod, PHYS reports. Modern technology has allowed for more discoveries and analyses to be made.

"We've examined the size, shape and both the external and internal 3-D structure of the tooth, and compared that to Holocene and Pleistocene Homo sapiens and Neanderthal specimens. This has enabled us to clearly characterize the tooth as belonging to an approximately nine-year-old Neanderthal child," stated Dr. Clément Zanolli, from Université de Bordeaux. "Shukbah marks the southernmost extent of the Neanderthal range known to date."

Two Important Considerations

According to the Natural History Museum, Chris Stringer, of the Natural History Museum, stated that the fossils suggest two very important things. Firstly, the location could propose Neanderthal presence in Africa. There is still no evidence to believe that yet but it has been widely speculated among experts. The Shuqba cave is just a few hundred miles from the region of Africa.

The second important proposition relates to the tools found in the caves. The stone tools resembled products commonly associated with Homo sapiens. But if the Neandertherdals occupied the area for long, then it is possible that the stone technology was also utlitized by Neanderthals.

Nubian Levallois method

There are many cave sites in the Middle East with fossils of both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. It is widely accepted that both populations had a range of stone tool technologies. However, recently, most experts argue that the Nubian Levallois method was special only to Homo sapiens.

This discovery and recent analysis of the tools is the first in which stone tools are found with a link to Neanderthal fossils. However, more research is needed to make a proper connection between Neatherdal and Homo sapien tool usage.