Discovered an impressive cave: it may have been the last home of mysterious human relatives

Given that the sand that sealed the chamber is 40,000 years old, and that the chamber itself is even older, those who lived here must have been Neanderthals – an extinct human species that existed In Eurasia about 200,000-40,000 years ago, says Clive Finlayson, director of the National Museum of Gibraltar.

the cave found a hollow space. It turned out that it is 13 meters long, and stalactites from the ceiling of the chamber here hanging like ice icicles. On the floor of the cell, researchers found the remains of lynx, finches and vultures, as well as a large sea snail, which was probably brought here by a Neanderthal

Investigators are eager to find out what they will find when they start excavating. One possibility is that the team will discover Neanderthal burials, Finlayson hopes. “Four years ago, we found a four-year-old Neanderthal’s milk tooth near the camera,” he says. Scientists have linked the tooth to the hills – hypothesized that the predators brought the child, who was probably already dead, to the cave.

In the cave system In the so-called Gorham Cave Complex, researchers found a wealth of evidence of Neanderthal existence – including a carving that may have been a work of art by early Neanderthals.

in addition, it was found that in this system of caves, our closest extinct relatives hunted seals, plucked down the feathers of birds of prey, used them as ornaments, and used tools. Scientists speculate that this cave system may have been one of the last places where Neanderthals lived before its extinction, about 40,000 years ago.

About Neanderthals

Neanderthal Homo neanderthalensis ) – an archaic species of the human (Homo) genus , extinct about 40,000 years ago. They are thought to have originated in Europe and then spread to southwestern, central, and northern Asia. They left hundreds of artifacts in these areas. Almost all tools older than 160,000 years belong to the Mustier culture.

In addition to the widely accepted concept of Neanderthals as a separate species, as well as name used Homo sapiens neanderthalensis , keeping Neanderthals in humans Homo sapiens subspecies, and modern humans are called Homo sapiens sapiens

Due to its coarser physique and other characteristics, it has long been thought to be a more primitive, less developed species of humans – but recent data suggest that Neanderthals may have , and in some respects may even surpass modern humans – in addition, the brain volume of Neanderthals was greater than that of modern humans Homo sapiens sapiens brain volume.

Exact reason for the extinction of Neanderthals is not known. In the past, they were thought to have been exterminated, competed by modern people who came to Europe from Africa to Europe. But now the prevailing theory is that it was not extermination but assimilation: modern humans crossed with Neanderthals, and most Europeans have up to 2.5 percent in their genomes. Neanderthal DNA

Some scientists also attribute the extinction of Neanderthals to global warming – H.neanderthalensis physiology was adapted to the ice age climate, but the ice age was over and the climate began to warm.

Prepared by Live Science “.