Neanderthals Built 176,000-Year-Old Underground Walls, Rewriting Prehistoric Intelligence

Dating of France’s Bruniquel Cave confirms Neanderthals built two stacked stone rings around 176,000 years ago by breaking and arranging hundreds of stalagmites, requiring coordinated teamwork and multiple fires in near-darkness. The rings—large and small—weigh about 2.2 tons and comprise 368 feet of stalagmite; uranium-series dating of mineral crusts places the construction long before modern humans in Europe, suggesting advanced social planning and cognitive abilities and possibly serving as shelter, defense, or a gathering space.