Title: Significant Discovery – Find in Europe Could Turn Human History Upside Down
Spanish researchers have provided new insights into the lifestyle of Neanderthals. Burnt materials from 50,000 years ago serve as evidence.
El Salt – Reconstructing human activities in the Stone Age is one of the biggest challenges in prehistoric archaeology. A study published in the journal Nature now provides new clues. The researchers speak of a „significant discovery“ that could turn human history upside down. Specifically, it was identified at what intervals Neanderthals created fireplaces.
Discovery reveals: Neanderthals lived in a Spanish river valley 50,000 years ago
„Although it has been suggested that Paleolithic hunters and gatherers were very mobile, important aspects of their lifestyle, such as the time between camps and the size of traveling groups, remain unclear,“ said the research team led by Ángela Herrejón-Lagunilla from the University of Burgos in Spain. „The complexity of Paleolithic sites makes it difficult to determine individual episodes of human settlement and clarify the time in between.“
Previous research has already shown that a group of Neanderthals once lived in a river valley at a site in Spain known today as El Salt. They left behind tools, animal bones, and several fireplaces, some only a few meters apart. Using a new dating technique, archaeologists have now dated the period of settlement to around 52,000 years – with a margin of error of up to 2000 years.
„Better understanding human behavior“: Discovery sheds light on lifestyle
The work of the research team focused on hearths or pits, which were likely used for heating and cooking food. Like in modern times, the pits were also used to contain the fire. In the study, archaeologists found that the fireplaces had been used for at least 200 years, with some likely being built decades apart.
Research method
Through a combination of „archaeostratigraphic“ analyses and an approach known as archaeomagnetic dating, researchers were able to determine the intervals at which the fireplaces were built. Signatures of the former Earth’s magnetic field were examined in the burnt materials, containing records of the direction and/or intensity of the magnetic field at the time of the last fire.
The researchers found that such long intervals between fireplaces indicate that these places were regularly visited over several generations. It appears that while Neanderthals were highly mobile, in some cases, they may have also returned to previous settlements after longer periods – within the lifespan of a human. In this case, it is the site in the Spanish river valley.
„This is definitely a big step forward in archaeology that will help us better understand human behavior in the past,“ said the study’s authors. They also point out that their dating technique could be applied to other excavation sites with multiple fireplaces to reconstruct the living conditions of people in ancient times around the world.