Turkey cave artefacts hint Neanderthal-human exchange
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- Üçağızlı II cave on Turkey's Mediterranean coast was occupied by Neanderthals from 77,000 to 59,000 years ago, then by Homo sapiens from 59,000 to 47,000 years ago, according to teeth and jaw remains recovered at the site.
- Naoki Morimoto at Kyoto University led the first full archaeological dig in 2020, recovering nearly 20,000 stone artefacts whose technology remained extraordinarily consistent across both species' occupations.
- Researchers found nearly 30 examples of Columbella rustica sea snail shells throughout all layers of cave deposits, with some showing broken points or holes suggesting decorative use, despite having no clear utility as tools or food.
- Morimoto said the 'striking consistency' in both stone tools and shell collection is 'difficult to explain by independent, parallel processes alone,' proposing that regional contact or cultural exchange is a plausible explanation.
- John Gowlett at the University of Liverpool said both species' predilection for shells may extend further back in time than current evidence shows, and that shared material culture didn't necessarily require friendly relations.
- Chris Stringer at London's Natural History Museum pointed to similar cultural-sharing evidence at older Levantine sites and noted possible Neanderthal-Homo sapiens interbreeding in the region around 100,000 years ago.
Why it matters: For decades, Neanderthals were framed as cognitively inferior to modern humans. The shared collection of aesthetically valued but non-utilitarian shells suggests cognitive parity and possible cultural transmission between species, reshaping how researchers model early human migrations and the symbolic capabilities of Neanderthals.
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