Neanderthals made a ‘Swiss Army knife’ from cave lion bone
A famous prehistoric cave site in Belgium has given the oldest multifunctional tool of the genre. This “Swiss army knife” in the ice age was not made early Homo sapiensHowever. Instead, the practical accessory came from our evolutionary cousin, the Neanderthal. The results are detailed in a study published in Scientific relationships.
Neanderthals often get a bad blow. Despite the growing evidence of the opposite, many current Homo sapiens Always believe that the archaic line has largely died because they were essentially more stupid than their competitors from Cro-Magnon. But while their cognitive capacities may have played a role in greater history, the Neanderthals were simply not as evolved as represented. For example, in 2024, researchers discovered what seems to be tchotchks collected by the Neanderthals of the Prado Vargas caves in Burgos, Spain.
More recently, a team leading to excavations in progress in the archaeological trof of Scaldina Cave in the center of Belgium found an animal bone with clear indications of intentional shaping. A more in -depth analysis has shown that it was a tibia bone of a cave lion (Panthera Spelaea), a species of extinguished panther that traversed current Europe up to around 13,000 years ago. Additional tests also indicated that the bone was around 130,000 years old, dating from the end of the Saalian glaciation period.
Archaeologists from the Belgian University of Ghent were particularly intrigued by multiple intentional marks carved in the bone. In all, the team determined that the tibia had four distinct tools, as well as signs of reuse. The authors of the study theorize that some of the tools have been initially used for jobs such as chiseling. Later, the Neanderthal craftsmen broke the bone and reused it for the manufacture of flint tools – a process called retouching. Although additional multitool uses remain unknown, the team maintains that it offers decisive evidence of Neanderthal ingenuity.
“The intentional transformation of lion bones into functional tools highlights cognitive skills, adaptability and the ability to use Neanderthals beyond their immediate survival needs,” they explained in the study.
Beyond its direct use, the bone tool also helps to contextualize Neanderthal’s relationship with cave lions, which coexisted by their side for hundreds of thousands of years. Other archaeological sites have given proof of lion and butcher’s skin, but the discovery of Scaldina has been the first time that experts have found a tool made from one of the animal’s bones.
In addition, the methods that Neanderthals have used to make the multitool lion are identical to those found on other elements of the cave, including some made from bear bones. For this reason, the authors of the study argue that it is possible that Neanderthals did not take much symbolic sense to animals – or, at least, no more than they did for the Bears. Instead, they probably hunted these animals from the practice.
The researchers hope to continue to study the last find to potentially determine its additional uses. Meanwhile, the tool offers other archaeologists an example to look for on other excavation sites. In any case, one thing is clear: it is time to give the Neanderthals in the long term the credit they deserve.
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