Wear marks suggest Neanderthals made ocher crayons
“Other authors emphasize that symbolic and utilitarian functions are intimately linked within traditional populations,” write D’Errico and his colleagues, “and that, as a result, it would have been difficult for a systematic use of ocher powders to exist over a long period without a symbolic dimension being attached to it fairly quickly. »
Tens of thousands of years later, without direct evidence, we can only speculate. Which, to be honest, is extremely interesting provided it comes with the appropriate caveats and an understanding of its limitations. But there are a growing number of places and times where we have direct evidence that Neanderthals used color to signal something meaningful to each other, although we don’t know whether the meaning was “Og is deputy chief of all the people east of the river,” “Zogg belongs to the people who live in this valley, not that one,” or “Grogg really likes yellow.”
As D’Errico and colleagues point out, this meaning likely varied from place to place, just as it does today. In most of Europe, white is the traditional color for a wedding, but in China it is used for funerals. Millennial gray is at its peak in the United States (send help), but elsewhere in the world, brighter colors are trending. And in some parts of Eurasia, Neanderthals seemed to prefer black manganese-based pigments, while elsewhere (like Crimea) reds and yellows were all the rage.
“This variability suggests different cultural trajectories, possibly involving community traditions, long-distance exchanges, or local innovations,” D’Errico and colleagues wrote.
The real takeaway here is twofold: First, evidence continues to mount that Neanderthals were just as intelligent, innovative, and creative as our species, and that they had developed their own nuanced culture and sophisticated tools long before the first. Homo sapiens ventured into Eurasia. And second, the urge to create art is deeply rooted in our family tree.
Scientific advances2025. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adx4722 (About DOIs).
