LONGTAN, CHINA—CNN reports that stone tools synonymous with Neanderthals were discovered at the Longtan site in southwest China's Yunnan Province—but no Neanderthal is thought to have ever ventured that far east. The hominins mainly roamed Eurasia for 400,000 years before disappearing around 40,000 years ago. They developed a distinctive style of stone tools that archaeologists refer to as Quina. Neanderthal skeletal remains have been found alongside these objects at several sites in Western Europe. The tools recently unearthed in China, including scrapers, are between 50,000 and 60,000 years old and seem to be identical to ones known to be crafted by Neanderthals. Longtan, however, is several thousand miles from known Neanderthal habitats. “The discovery at the Longtan site is remarkable, as it documents this particular tradition far from the region traditionally associated with this techno-cultural complex,” said University of Ferrara archaeologist Davide Delpiano. The experts are still unsure how the tools ended up at the site but have posited several theories. Neanderthals may have actually lived that far east and made them themselves. Alternatively, they might have met other human species such as the Denisovans on their own turf, and this interaction allowed for knowledge of their stone tool technology to disseminate eastward. A third possibility is that the hominins who once lived at the Longtan site simply developed the tool style completely independently in response to similar climatic conditions and needs. For more on Neanderthal tools recovered from European sites, go to "Neanderthal Tool Time."
