A study of a rock engraving in Gorham’s Cave in Gibraltar finds that the cross-hatched impression was likely created by Neanderthals and represents Neanderthals’ capacity for abstract expression. Previously-discovered cave art has been exclusively attributed to modern humans, who arrived in Western Europe around 40,000 years ago. Ruth Blasco and colleagues discovered an abstract pattern engraved in the rock of Gorham’s Cave in Gibraltar. The cross-hatched pattern was overlain by undisturbed sediment in which Neanderthal artifacts had previously been discovered, suggesting that the engraving pre-dated the 39,000-year-old artifacts.
Figure. Engraving from Gorham’s Cave.
Further geochemical analysis of the mineral coating on the engraved grooves suggests that the rock art was created before deposition of the overlying sediment. The authors, including two members of the Tracsymbols project -Francesco d’Errico and Alain Queffelec - took microphotographs of the tool marks within the engraving, compared the marks with experimental marks made with various tools, and determined that the abstract cave engraving was created intentionally by repeatedly passing a robust cutting tip over the rock in the same direction, and not by incidental cutting associated with other activities. The results add to evidence at other sites that Neanderthal intellectual capacity may have previously been underestimated.
Follow this link to download the 3D video of the engraving:
https://services.aquitaine.cnrs.fr/filez/uyykkitfegaq
This link redirects to the Open Access article on the PNAS website:
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/08/27/1411529111.abstract?sid=a85e0d6d-53e7-457e-8631-a09cb9cb14e2