Researchers believe a large pebble, discovered at the San Lázaro rock shelter in Spain, might be the earliest representation of a face created by a Neanderthal. Dating back approximately 43,000 years, the pebble features a distinctive red dot, suggesting it was painted to enhance the stone's natural features into a facial representation. This finding sheds light on Neanderthals' cognitive abilities and their potential for symbolic thought, which has implications for the understanding of early human art practices. The discovery also marks it as the oldest known painted portable art in Europe.
Professor María de Andrés-Herrero described the surprising discovery, stating, 'At the beginning we couldn't believe what we were looking at... with a red dot just in the middle which looked like a human face.'
The researchers emphasized, 'The strategic position of the dot could be evidence of Neanderthals' symbolic behaviour, suggesting they had the ability to think about things in an abstract way.'
Spanish official Gonzalo Santonja noted, 'This pebble is the oldest portable object to be painted in the European continent and the only object of portable art painted by Neanderthals.'
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