Cave artists may be older than we thought

THE earliest Stone Age cave art attributed to the ancestors of modern humans could be the work of Neanderthals, scientists have revealed.

Symbols discovered in 11 caves in northern Spain date from more than 41,000 years ago.

If painted by the forerunners of modern humans, the painting would suggest advanced abstract thinking and possibly language emerged thousands of years earlier than has been assumed.

But if painted by Neanderthal man, a now extinct strain of human that roamed Europe long before our predecessors arrived from Africa, it suggests abstract thinking and art predated the arrival of modern man.

Both are believed to have evolved from a common African ancestor about half a million years ago.

Once dismissed as primitive and ape-like, Neanderthals are now known to have had a relatively advanced culture. Evidence shows they engaged in body painting, and wore pendants made of bones, teeth and ivory.

The two kinds of humans co-existed in Europe for around 10,000 years before Neanderthals vanished some 30,000 years ago.

Their genetic identity may also have dwindled through interbreeding with the antecedents of modern humans.

The research was carried out by British, Spanish and Portuguese scientists who analysed 50 paintings in 11 caves. Published in the journal Science, it suggests European cave art started up to 10,000 years earlier than previously thought.

Lead scientist Dr Alistair Pike, of Bristol University, said: “Evidence for modern humans in northern Spain dates back to 41,500 years ago, and before them were Neanderthals.

“Our results show that either modern humans arrived with painting already part of their cultural activity or it developed very shortly after, perhaps in response to competition with Neanderthals – or perhaps the art is Neanderthal art.”

Co-author Professor Joao Zilhao, from Barcelona University, believes the Spanish art works were painted by Neanderthals – although more convincing proof is needed.