SCLADINA CAVE, 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. According to the report, the team stated that “the intentional transformation of lion bones into functional tools highlights Neanderthals’ cognitive skills, adaptability, and capacity for resource utilization beyond their immediate survival needs.” Read the original scholarly article about this research in Scientific Reports. For more, go to "Neanderthal Tool Time."
