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.

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 42,000 to 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 nonutilitarian 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 ocher, a natural earth pigment. The next step was to determine how it got there.