42,000-year-old tools
One of the Neanderthal blades found in West Sussex
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Tuesday, 24, Jun 2008 03:54
Ancient tools discovered at a site in West Sussex have suggested that Europe's last Neanderthals were more sophisticated than thought.
The tools are thought to date back to between 35,000 and 42,000 years ago and are more diverse and extensive than any others found in the region.
Archaeologists believe they therefore offer the best insight into the technologically advanced cultures which occupied Northern Europe before the accepted appearance of our own species - Homo sapiens.
The team from University College London (UCL) argue that the tools suggest they are from a thriving, developing population of Neanderthals, rather than communities about to become extinct.
The tools, thought to be used for hunting, were made with long, straight blades to be used for a variety of bone and hide processing implements, as well as lethal spear points.
"The tools we've found at the site are technologically advanced and potentially older than tools in Britain belonging to our own species, Homo sapiens," said Dr Matthew Pope from the UCL Institute of Archaeology.
"It's exciting to think that there's a real possibility these were left by some of the last Neanderthal hunting groups to occupy northern Europe. The impression they give is of a population in complete command of both landscape and natural raw materials with a flourishing technology - not a people on the edge of extinction."
Barney Sloane, head of historic environment commissions at English Heritage, which funded the study, said it offers "a rare chance to answer some crucial questions about just how technologically advanced Neanderthals were, and how they compare with our own species".
The paper on the tool study is published in the journal Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society.