Those clever Neanderthals

Rethinking Neanderthal Minds

The art’s age and location have renewed debates about the intelligence of Neanderthals. For decades, they were viewed as less capable than Homo sapiens in symbolic thought. But these findings suggest otherwise.

If Neanderthals were indeed the artists behind some of these paintings, they were not just surviving—they were observing the cosmos, recording their lives, and possibly communicating across generations.

It’s also evidence that Neanderthals figured out how to shape bone into smooth, aerodynamic projectiles on their own, without needing to copy those upstart Homo sapiens.

Along with the bone tools, jewelry, and even rope that archaeologists have found at other Neanderthal sites, the projectile is one more clue pointing to the fact that Neanderthals were actually pretty sharp.