Overview
- An international team reports in Science Advances that 16 ochre fragments from the Neanderthal-associated Zaskalnaya V and VI sites in Crimea show deliberate modification.
- Scanning electron microscopy and portable X-ray fluorescence revealed repeated sharpening, edge grinding, and tip reshaping consistent with manufactured marking tools.
- Three artifacts display features exceeding utilitarian use, including curated reshaping and surfaces suited to making lines on skin or rock.
- Reported ages vary across coverage, with pieces commonly described around 70,000 years old and in some accounts as early as 130,000 years, underscoring dating uncertainty in summaries.
- The authors caution that the evidence is local and episodic and does not demonstrate continuous or universal symbolic behavior among all Neanderthal groups.