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Ancient Crayons Show Neanderthals Created Symbolic Art
Analysis of ochre crayons from Crimea shows Neanderthals reused tools for symbolic drawing, revealing cultural practices similar to early Homo sapiens, researchers say.
- On October 30, 2025, Francesco d'Errico's team at the University of Bordeaux reported ochre pieces from Crimea suggesting symbolic use by Crimean Neanderthals.
- Against a long prehistoric backdrop, the team highlights ochre use dates back at least 400,000 years in Europe and Africa, with researchers arguing symbolic cognition extends further.
- Researchers analyzed 16 ochre pieces using multiproxy methods: scanning electron microscopy and portable XRF, finding a yellow ochre crayon about 5 to 6 centimetres long and at least 42,000 years old.
- The study contends these artifacts challenge the stereotype of simple Neanderthals and highlight their cognitive and cultural complexity, while Francesco d'Errico and colleagues argue the deliberate shaping and engraved motifs provide firm evidence of symbolic pigment use.
- The finds include a broken crayon perhaps 70,000 years old and join other Neanderthal art evidence suggesting uses like marking skin, clothing or stone, the authors say.
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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…
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Total News Sources15
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution87% Center
Bias Distribution
- 87% of the sources are Center
87% Center
13%
C 87%
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