Belying their reputation as the dumb cousins of early modern humans, Neanderthals created cave art, an activity regarded as a major cognitive step in the evolution of humankind.
Scientists have reported the first discovery of artwork by this extinct species. Deep in Gorham's Cave in Gibraltar, researchers from 11 European institutions found carvings that resemble nothing so much as a rococo Twitter hashtag: eight partially crisscrossing lines with three shorter lines on the right and two on the left.
Covered by undisturbed sediment that contains 294 previously discovered stone tools, the carvings are in a style long known as the signature of Neanderthals.
The engravings were "new and even stronger evidence of the Neanderthal capacity for developing complex symbolic thought" and "abstract expression", according to French prehistorian William Rendu, who was not involved in the work.
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