title: A rock engraving made by Neanderthals in Gibraltar.
abstract: The production of purposely made painted or engraved designs on cave walls--a means of recording and transmitting symbolic codes in a durable manner--is recognized as a major cognitive step in human evolution. Considered exclusive to modern humans, this behavior has been used to argue in favor of significant cognitive differences between our direct ancestors and contemporary archaic hominins, including the Neanderthals. Here we present the first known example of an abstract pattern engraved by Neanderthals, from Gorham's Cave in Gibraltar. It consists of a deeply impressed cross-hatching carved into the bedrock of the cave that has remained covered by an undisturbed archaeological level containing Mousterian artifacts made by Neanderthals and is older than 39 cal kyr BP. Geochemical analysis of the epigenetic coating over the engravings and experimental replication show that the engraving was made before accumulation of the archaeological layers, and that most of the lines composing the design were made by repeatedly and carefully passing a pointed lithic tool into the grooves, excluding the possibility of an unintentional or utilitarian origin (e.g., food or fur processing). This discovery demonstrates the capacity of the Neanderthals for abstract thought and expression through the use of geometric forms.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Geodinámica y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, and Marine International Campus of Excellence (CEIMAR) Universidad de Huelva, 21071 Huelva, Spain;
authors.forename: Joaquín
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Vidal
authors.affiliation: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5199-PACEA, University of Bordeaux, F-33615 Pessac, France; Department of Archaeology, Cultural, and Religious Studies, University of Bergen, 5020 Bergen, Norway;
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: d'Errico
authors.affiliation: Gibraltar Caves Project, Gibraltar;
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Giles Pacheco
authors.affiliation: The Gibraltar Museum, Gibraltar;
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Blasco
authors.affiliation: Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43002 Tarragona, Spain; Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, 43007 Tarragona, Spain;
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rosell
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratory for Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 2HU, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Richard P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Jennings
authors.affiliation: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5199-PACEA, University of Bordeaux, F-33615 Pessac, France;
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Queffelec
authors.affiliation: The Gibraltar Museum, Gibraltar;
authors.forename: Geraldine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Finlayson
authors.affiliation: The Gibraltar Museum, Gibraltar;
authors.forename: Darren A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Fa
authors.affiliation: Museo Histórico Municipal de Villamartín, 11650 Villamartin, Spain;
authors.forename: José María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez López
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain; and.
authors.forename: José S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Carrión
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 41092 Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan José
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Negro
authors.affiliation: The Gibraltar Museum, Gibraltar;
authors.forename: Stewart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Finlayson
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Geodinámica y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, and Marine International Campus of Excellence (CEIMAR) Universidad de Huelva, 21071 Huelva, Spain;
authors.forename: Luís M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Cáceres
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratory for Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 2HU, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Marco A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bernal
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain; and.
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fernández Jiménez
authors.affiliation: The Gibraltar Museum, Gibraltar; clive.finlayson@gibmuseum.gi.
authors.forename: Clive
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Finlayson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059552:Caves; D004741:Engraving and Engravings; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D005876:Gibraltar; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D059125:Neanderthals; D014887:Weather
keywords: Iberia; Middle Paleolithic; art; cognition; symbolism