“Different authors level out that symbolic and utilitarian features are intimately linked amongst conventional populations,” wrote D'Errico and his colleagues, “and that, consequently, it might have been troublesome for a scientific use of ocher powders to exist over an extended time frame with no symbolic dimension being relatively shortly connected to it.”
Tens of 1000's of years later, with out direct proof, all we will do is speculate. Which, to be honest, is tremendously attention-grabbing so long as it comes with the proper caveats and understanding of its limitations. However there are a rising variety of locations and occasions the place we do have direct proof that Neanderthals have been utilizing shade to sign one thing significant to one another, even when we don't know whether or not the that means was “Og is the deputy chief of all of the individuals east of the river,” “Zogg belongs to the individuals who reside on this valley, not that one,” or “Grogg actually likes yellow.”
As D'Errico and his colleagues level out, that that means in all probability diversified from place to position, simply because it does right this moment. In most of Europe, white is the normal shade for a marriage, however in China, white is for funerals. Millennial grey is in its heyday within the US (ship assist), however elsewhere on the planet, brighter colours are in vogue. And in some elements of Eurasia, Neanderthals appeared to favor manganese-based black pigments, whereas elsewhere (like Crimea), reds and yellows have been all the fashion.
“This variability suggests completely different cultural trajectories, presumably involving community-level traditions, long-distance exchanges, or native innovation,” wrote D'Errico and his colleagues.
The true takeaway right here is twofold: First, proof continues to pile up that Neanderthals have been simply as sensible, revolutionary, and artistic as our species, and so they'd developed their very own nuanced tradition and complicated instruments lengthy earlier than the primary Homo sapiens ventured into Eurasia. And second, the impulse to make artwork is rooted deep in our household tree.
Science Advances, 2025. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adx4722 (About DOIs).
