Neanderthals' Ancient Art: Oldest Engravings Found in French Cave.
TL;DR
Researchers in France claim that finger marks on the walls of La Roche-Cotard Cave are Neanderthal engravings, made around 57,000 years ago. The marks were made by fingers “digging” into the soft rock, not use of tools or pigments. The finger-flutings appear in eight separate panels inside the cave and are “unambiguous examples of Neanderthal abstract design”. The discovery suggests early symbolic abilities among Neanderthals and strengthens the claims of spiritual and material culture in the Late Stone Age, whether among sapiens and Neanderthals.
- The Aesthetic Neanderthal: Markings in French Cave Had to Be Theirs, Researchers Say - Archaeology Haaretz
- World's Oldest Cave Engravings Found, But Homo Sapiens Were Not The Artist IFLScience
- Oldest Known Neanderthal Engravings Were Sealed in a Cave for 57000 Years Smithsonian Magazine
- Could these marks on a cave wall be oldest-known Neanderthal “finger paintings”? Ars Technica
- Neanderthals created Europe's oldest 'intentional' engravings up to 75000 years ago, study suggests Livescience.com
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