Neanderthals painted stalagmites red

[Judi Lynn]

2. This Controversial Cave Art Really Was Painted by Neanderthals, Study Confirms

AFP 3 AUGUST 2021

Neanderthals, long perceived to have been unsophisticated and brutish, really did paint stalagmites in a Spanish cave more than 60,000 years ago, according to a study published on Monday.

The issue had roiled the paleoarchaeology community ever since the publication of a 2018 paper attributing red ocher pigment found on the stalagmitic dome of Cueva de Ardales to our extinct "cousin" species.

The dating suggested the art was at least 64,800 years old, made at a time when modern humans did not inhabit the continent.

But the finding was contentious, and "a scientific article said that perhaps these pigments were a natural thing," a result of iron oxide flow, Francesco d'Errico, co-author of a new paper in the journal PNAS told AFP.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/new-study-confirms-neanderthals-created-ancient-spanish-cave-art-60-000-years-ago