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Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
This May Be The World's Oldest Human Fingerprint, And That's Not All
Around 43,000 years ago, a Neanderthal dipped their finger in ocher and stamped the very center of a pebble. This one small marking on this one small stone still exists to this day. It was discovered in 2022 in the San Lázaro rock shelter of Central Spain, and it may be the world's oldest complete human fingerprint. More than that, it could also be one of the oldest known artistic representations of a human face. That latter claim remains controversial, but the red fingerprint does sit in the very middle of the pebble, below two divots and above another – an artistic 'boop' right where a nose should be. On site, the face immediately jumped out to archaeologists, led by David Álvarez-Alonso at the Complutense University of Madrid. If the team is right, this stone was probably carried from the nearby river to the San Lázaro rock shelter. The Neanderthal who selected it must have seen something special in its shape to take it home and paint it with ocher, especially as it seems to serve no functional purpose and no other ocher has been found at the site. "The ocher dot does not appear as a shapeless addition or a mere stain," explain the authors, "rather, it contains a fingerprint that implies the pigment has been applied specifically with the tip of a finger soaked in pigment." There's always a chance the print was made by accident. But Álvarez Alonso and colleagues think it is more likely the marking was an intentional act of imagination and symbolic art – a skill we have only just started giving Neanderthals credit for. "If we had a pebble with a red dot on it that was done 5,000 years ago by Homo sapiens, no one would hesitate to call it portable art," Álvarez Alonso told Sam Jones at The Guardian. "But associating Neanderthals with art generates a lot of debate. I think there's sometimes an unintentional prejudice." The study was published in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. Robot Hand Could Help Scientists Decode Why Tickling Makes Us Giggle Earliest Known Whale Bone Tools Discovered in Europe's Museum Collections Are Dogs Replacing Babies in Countries With Declining Birth Rates?
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Prehistoric fingerprint found in Spain offers clue to Neanderthal capacity for making art, study finds
Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Researchers in central Spain say they may have uncovered one of the most ancient symbolic objects bearing a human fingerprint on record in Europe, dating back tens of thousands of years. Unlocking the secret identity of exactly who made the mark involved enlisting the help of forensic experts working in crime scene investigations. The pebble marked with the print, found in the San Lázaro rock shelter in Segovia, hints at the possible capacity of Neanderthals to create symbolic art, according to a new study. The discovery adds to a growing body of evidence, including cave markings and paintings unearthed in recent years, building the case that our prehistoric relatives who went extinct about 40,000 years ago were more like modern humans than some might think. The team of Spanish researchers spotted the oblong rock below 5 feet (1.5 meters) of sediment during an excavation in July 2022 and reported their findings in a paper published May 24 in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. San Lázaro is a site believed to have been occupied by Neanderthals, according to the study. 'When we saw (the pebble) the first time … we were looking at the stone, all the team and students, and we were like 'Uh, it looks like a face,'' said study coauthor María de Andrés Herrero, a professor of prehistory at the Compultense University of Madrid. This kind of finding in a Neanderthal context was unexpected, she added. Herrero said she and her team carbon-dated the fingerprint, and they are certain it dates back about 43,000 years. The rock had been found near a riverbed and deliberately brought to the rock shelter, the researchers believe. Unlike other artifacts found in the shelter, this pebble was unique: It appeared to have no functional use and had a peculiar red dot that intrigued the researchers. 'We felt that the red dot had something, I don't know what … and the only way we could know there was a fingerprint was to contact the main specialist in Spain (for) finding fingerprints,' Herrero said. 'That's why we contacted the police.' With the help of experts working in crime scene investigations with Madrid's forensic police corps Madrid, the researchers were able to confirm that a fingerprint existed within the dot. But the police were initially skeptical about the find. 'They are used to identifying fingerprints that are very recent, from 2 days, 1 week, 1 month. But 43,000 years ago — it was very weird and very difficult for them,' Herrero said. Using forensic techniques and multispectral analysis (an advanced method of capturing images), the investigative experts and the study team were able to discern a fingerprint within the red dot. 'We couldn't believe it really,' Herrero said. The forensic investigator created a special camera to capture the evidence, and it was the first time such techniques were used to identify a Neanderthal fingerprint, according to Herrero. The imaging technology section of the forensic team then analyzed the marking to confirm it was compatible with a human fingerprint — and to make sure it didn't belong to any of the researchers. The police unit was able to verify that it likely belonged to an adult male Neanderthal. 'The verification of the fingerprint by forensic experts shows beyond doubt that this derived from direct contact with a human fingerprint,' said Paul Pettitt, a professor of paleolithic archaeology at Durham University in the United Kingdom. The artifact could be the oldest complete hominin fingerprint ever found, according to Herrero. Another, possibly older print was found in Königsaue, Germany, back in 1963 — but that one is a partial fingerprint. The San Lázaro fingerprint could also be the oldest associated with a pigment, according to the study. The researchers were able to confirm that ocher, a clay pigment, was applied to the tip of the finger that made its mark on the quartz-rich granite pebble. Statistical modeling used by the researchers showed that the mark on the pebble was 'not random' and rather, intentionally placed, Herrero said. Pettitt said he was unsurprised by the findings. 'It represents yet another example of the emerging data that are revealing Neanderthal visual culture,' he explained. 'This is an admirably clear and unequivocal example of the Neanderthal use of red pigment, one of a growing database that reveals that Neanderthals were routinely using pigments to leave marks of their bodies (hands, fingertips) on cave walls and portable objects.' One theory is that the hollows on the rock resemble parts of a face: eyes, mouth and chin. The placement of the red dot, the researchers hypothesized, could be the place of a nose. If that is the case, the pebble marking would constitute a visual sign with a symbolic purpose. 'A meaning or message exists, however simple the object and action may appear, 'the study authors wrote. They added there is reason to suspect that the pebble was intended to be a representation of a face. The study, which called the characteristics of the pebble 'exceptional,' suggests it might be a visual symbol that could be considered a piece of 'portable art in some contexts.' If that's the case, scientists' understanding of what Neanderthals were capable of could continue to shift. 'The fact that the pebble was selected because of its appearance and then marked with ocher shows that there was a human mind capable of symbolizing, imagining, idealizing and projecting his or her thoughts on an object,' the study authors wrote. Though there is no way of knowing for certain, Herrero thinks it's a demonstration of how our understanding of the 'thin line' separating Neanderthals from modern humans is getting thinner. 'They were able to recognize faces in objects, as you and me are able to recognize a lion in the clouds,' she said. Pettitt offered a similar outlook, saying the findings fit with 'emerging evidence that the Neanderthal imagination was experimenting with the human form and with recognition and extension of that form within and onto objects in their natural world.' Herrero said the research team is now planning to search for more 'invisible artifacts' to help interpret the past. The forensic police will play a role in finding information not visible to the naked eye. 'We have to collaborate and integrate forensic technologies in archaeology, and maybe archaeology in forensic technologies,' she explained, saying the collaboration is 'opening a new window to check our past.'
USA Today
3 days ago
- Science
- USA Today
A 43,000 year-old work of art? Neanderthals may have painted portraits.
A 43,000 year-old work of art? Neanderthals may have painted portraits. An ancient granite pebble included indentations resembling a face, its nose a red dot. A study says it may have had symbolic significance. Show Caption Hide Caption Tourist climbs sacred Mayan pyramid in Mexico A German tourist was escorted from an archaeological complex when he climbed and attempted to evade security at a Mayan pyramid in Mexico. An eight-inch rock found at an archaeological site in central Spain is the latest indication that Neanderthals were making art long before modern humans, further eroding stereotypes of the extinct species as dull-witted. The July 2022 discovery at San Lázaro rock-shelter in Segovia, described as 'exceptional' by the authors of a paper published May 25 in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, dates back 43,000 years – long before modern humans inhabited the area. The quartz-rich granite pebble included indentations resembling a face, its nose a Rudolph-like red dot visible at center. Significantly, the spot didn't appear to be random, instead bearing evidence indicating it was the product of someone's imagination. 'The ocher dot does not appear as a shapeless addition or a mere stain,' wrote lead author David Álvarez-Alonso of Madrid's Complutense University. 'Rather, it contains a fingerprint that implies the pigment has been applied specifically with the tip of a finger soaked in pigment.' The authors consider the artifact a nonutilitarian visual symbol – in other words, not a tool but an altered or marked object with possible symbolic significance. While its age makes it impossible to draw any definitive conclusions, they wrote, the stone could 'represent one of the oldest known abstractions of a human face in the prehistoric record." 'The fact that the pebble was selected because of its appearance and then marked with ocher shows that there was a human mind capable of symbolizing, imagining, idealizing and projecting his or her thoughts on an object,' they wrote. An expanding Neanderthal portfolio This isn't the first time a Neanderthal fingerprint has been pinpointed, the authors noted. A partial one, likely made by a thumb, was found on resin discovered in Germany in 1963. However, the discovery offers yet another dab of evidence suggesting that Neanderthals made art. In 2018, The Guardian reported archaeological findings in Spain indicating that Neanderthals used red ocher to produce shapes and symbols on cave walls 65,000 years ago. The species flourished from roughly 350,000 to 40,000 years ago, and studies indicate they and modern humans may have gone their separate ways as long as 800,000 years ago. Increasing evidence has indicated that Neanderthals were more advanced than once thought. In 2020, a paper published in the journal Science said evidence found in a coastal cave in Portugal suggested Neanderthals were skilled fishermen who regularly consumed seafood as part of their diet. Until then, only humans (Homo sapiens) had been thought to look to the sea as a food source. Meanwhile, the discovery of 176,000-year-old structures deep within a French cave hinted at Neanderthals' ability to use fire and work in groups. A 2016 article in Nature described strange, circular edifices constructed in an interior space 360 yards removed from daylight; the formations were made from uniform stalagmites, many of them cut to size. With the earliest known human-built structures 40,000 years old, the cave formations not only predate such activity by Homo sapiens but also show Neanderthal utilization of deep caves began much earlier as well. According to the study, the earliest indications of modern humans using deep caves are less than 42,000 years old.
NBC News
4 days ago
- Science
- NBC News
With the touch of a finger, a Neanderthal may have made art
Researchers in Spain say they have found evidence that Neanderthals were capable of creating art — challenging the idea that art began with the modern humans who succeeded them. The canvas was a quartz-rich granite pebble that was excavated from a rock shelter in central Spain in 2022, in a layer dating back between 42,000 and 43,000 years. Measuring more than 8 inches long, the pebble has curves and indentations that make it resemble a human face. In the middle of its surface is a single red dot, right where a nose would be, researchers said in a study published Saturday in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, adding that it appeared to be a non-utilitarian object rather than a tool. 'From the outset we could tell it was peculiar,' said David Álvarez-Alonso, lead author of the paper. Analysis showed that the red dot consisted of ochre, a natural earth pigment. The next step was to determine how it got there. While not visible to the naked eye, the red dot was confirmed by Spanish forensic police to be a fingerprint, leaving 'no doubt' that it was applied to the stone intentionally by a finger dipped in ochre, Álvarez-Alonso said in an email on Tuesday. The researchers postulate that the Neanderthal, who based on the fingerprint was possibly an adult male, perceived the pebble as resembling a face — a psychological phenomenon known as pareidolia — and was inspired to complete the depiction, creating 'one of the oldest known abstractions of a human face in the prehistoric record.' 'It would be a clear act of symbolization — apparently very simple, yet meaningful,' Álvarez-Alonso said. The discovery is 'doubly exceptional' since it's the 'most complete' Neanderthal fingerprint identified to date, apart from a partial one previously found in Germany, the researchers said. Neanderthals, a distinct species that went extinct around 40,000 years ago, lived alongside early modern humans in Europe, Asia and the Middle East for at least part of their existence. Characterized by a large nose and relatively short and stocky bodies, the species is very closely related to humans, or Homo sapiens. The remains of Neanderthals do not show clear evidence of lower intelligence than modern humans, some scientists have argued. The stone is 'one of a small but growing number of discoveries that point to the existence of symbolic behavior among Neanderthals,' Álvarez-Alonso said. However, it's 'clearly an isolated object, with no known parallels' that can be used for comparison, he added. 'We should not try to draw direct analogies between the Neanderthal and sapiens worlds,' Álvarez-Alonso said, as Neanderthals did not create a visual symbolic system as complex and diverse as the one developed by Homo sapiens. 'This pebble doesn't solve the mystery, but it offers one more clue suggesting the presence of a complex mind — one capable of producing symbols,' he said.
Arab News
04-04-2025
- Business
- Arab News
In Tunisia, snails inch toward replacing red meat as people turn to cheaper protein
AKOUDA, Tunisia: In fields outside their hometown in central Tunisia, an increasing number of unemployed young men are seeking a new way to make a living, picking snails off of rocks and leaves and collecting them in large plastic bags to take to the local market to be sold. More and more people, they say, are buying the shelled wanderers as the price of market staples remains high and out of reach for many families. 'They're profitable, beneficial and quite in demand,' said Karim, a 29-year-old snail seller from the village of Akouda said. Snails have been consumed in Tunisia for more than seven millenia, according to research published last year in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. In today's world considered mostly a bistro delicacy, they're again gaining traction in Tunisia as a practical alternative to red meat — a protein-rich substitute that pairs perfectly with salt, spices, and bold seasonings. The snails are a lifeline for some in Tunisia, where youth unemployment now hovers above 40 percent and inflation remains high, three years after spiking to its highest levels in decades. A lack of opportunity has fueled social discontent throughout the country and, increasingly, migration to Europe. Low in fat and high in iron, calcium and magnesium, snails offer both nutritional value and economic relief. In a country where unemployment runs high and median wages remain low, they cost about half as much as beef per kilogram and often less when sold by the bowl. 'Snails are better for cooking than lamb. If lamb meat costs 60 dinars ($19.30), a bowl of snails is five dinars ($1.60),' a man named Mohammed said at the Akouda market. As the price of meat and poultry continues to rise, more Tunisians are turning to affordable, alternative sources of protein. Beyond their economic appeal, these substitutes are also drawing interest for their environmental benefits. Scientists say they offer a more sustainable solution, producing far fewer carbon emissions and avoiding the deforestation linked to traditional livestock farming. Wahiba Dridi, who serves snails at her restaurant in Tunis, cooks them in a traditional fashion with peppers and spices. She said they were popular throughout this year's Ramadan, which ended last week. Though Tunisian Muslims traditionally eat red meat at the meals during which they break their daily fasts, a kilogram of snails costs less than 28 Tunisian dinars ($9) compared to beef, which costs 55 dinars per kilogram ($18). 'If people knew the value of snails they would eat them all year long,' Dridi said.
