NEANDERTHAL INVENTIONS

These caveman creations kept our ancient hunter-gatherer relatives alive

- WORDS SCOTT DUTFIELD

Between 40,000 and 400,000 years ago, our prehistoric cousins wandered throughout Europe and Asia. Homo neanderthalensis, commonly known as the Neanderthals, were a species that diverged from human lineage approximately 500,000 years ago. Often depicted as dimwitted cavemen, the Neanderthals were far from mindless fire-wielding apes. The use of fire was a turning point in human evolution. It changed the way our prehistoric ancestors ate food and stayed warm in frigid environments. Having access to a blazing fire during an ice age may have made the difference between life and death.

It has long been debated whether or not Neanderthals were able to make their own fire or simply ‘harvested’ flames from natural wildfires and carried burning sticks to their settlements. In 2018, researchers at Leiden University in the Netherlands found mineral traces of pyrite on the surfaces of Neanderthal hand axes. Many of the tools made by Neanderthals were made from flint, a hard sedimentary rock commonly found in Europe.

THE FIRST FASHIONISTAS?

Archaeologists think Neanderthals may have been the first early humans to don fur as a way of staying warm during winter. To fight against frigid conditions, Neanderthals evolved several anatomical adaptations, such as a stocky, muscular frame and a large nose, which is thought to have increased the surface area in the nasal passage to warm air as it entered. But mere biology might not have been enough to keep them warm. To battle chilling winds and rainfall, researchers estimate that up to 80 per cent of a Neanderthal's body would have been covered by 'non-tailored clothing'. To provide some protection against the elements, Neanderthals would have skinned their dinner, cleaned it and poked holes in the skin to thread strips of tissue through and fashion a loosely held garment.

PREHISTORIC TOOLBOX