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Early Neanderthal constructions deep in Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France Jacques Jaubert, Sophie Verheyden cs 2016 Nature doi 10.1038/nature18291
Very little is known about Hn cultures, particularly early ones. Other than lithic implements & exceptional bone tools, very few artefacts have been preserved. While those that do remain include red & black pigments & burial sites, these indications of modernity are extremely sparse, and few have been precisely dated, thus greatly limiting our knowledge of Hn.
Here we report the dating of annular constructions, made of broken stalagmites, found deep in Bruniquel Cave. The regular geometry of the stalagmite circles, the arrangement of broken stalagmites & several traces of fire demonstrate the anthropogenic origin of these constructions. Uranium-series dating of stalagmite regrowths on the structures & on burnt bone, combined with the dating of stalagmite tips in the structures, give a reliable & replicated age of 176.5 ka ±2.1, making these edifices among the oldest known well-dated constructions made by humans. Their presence at 336 m from the entrance of the cave indicates that humans from this period had already mastered the underground environment, which can be considered a major step in human modernity.
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So why were these "albino cavers" (per Dr. Winters) black? (per Xyyman)?
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