ANDENNE, BELGIUM—Evidence continues to mount that Neanderthals were a much more intelligent species than scientists originally suspected. Popular Science reports that archaeologists uncovered a remarkable, multifunctional tool from Belgium's Scladina Cave. The utensil was fashioned from the tibia of an extinct cave lion 130,000 years ago and had four different functional components. Researchers believe that it may have originally been created for use in tasks such as chiseling, but as some of the points wore down, they were reshaped and repurposed for other jobs, such as sharpening and retouching flints. "This is the oldest known evidence of lion bones being transformed into tools by Neanderthals," said Ghent University zooarchaeologist Grégory Abrams, who led the research team. "It demonstrates their adaptability, their deep knowledge of bone materials and mechanical properties, and a behavioral complexity that remains underestimated.” Read the original scholarly article about this research in Scientific Reports. For more, go to "Neanderthal Tool Time."
