Neandertals made the first specialised bone tools in Europe
New finds demonstrate that Neandertals were the first in Europe to make standardised and specialised bone tools – which are still in use today. These firndings are reported by Leiden reseachers together with an international team of archaeologists in the PNAS journal (Proceedings National Academy of Sciences USA).
Researchers from Leiden University and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig discovered these unusual tools made by Neandertals during excavations in two archaeological sites in south-western France.
You can read more about these findings on the website of the Max Planck Institute.
Four views of the most complete lissoir (a tool for treating hide) found at the site of Abri Peyrony. (Image: Abri Peyrony and Pech-de-l'Aze I Projects)