Ancient Crayons Show Neanderthals Created Symbolic Art

Neanderthals Made Ochre Crayons 130,000 Years Ago, Showing Evidence of a Colorful Culture

Learn about the crayon-like tools made by Neanderthals during the Middle Paleolithic and how these objects likely prove the existence of a complex Neanderthal culture.

Crimean Neanderthals made Stone Age crayons from ocher 50,000 years ago

Neanderthals were apparently no easier on their art supplies than modern kids.

Neanderthals used 'crayons' to color

Neanderthals are getting a well-deserved scientific rewrite. A growing body of paleoarchaeological evidence indicates that our extinct cousins were far from the lumbering oafs we initially believed them to be. Recent discoveries show the one-time Homo sapien competitors were creative enough to craft stone multitools and even collect small trinkets. A recent study published in the journal Science Advances now adds a more colorful dimension to the…

Evidence for symbolic use of ochre by Micoquian Neanderthals in Crimea

Researchers Discover Oldest-Known Ochre Workshop in East Asia

Tools and pieces of the clay earth pigment found in northern China date to about 40,000 years old, and introduce new theories about early human migration

42,000-Year-Old Yellow Crayon Suggests Neanderthals Created Art – And It’s Still Sharp Too

The ancient coloring tool supports the idea that we weren’t the only human species with symbolic culture.