How Neanderthals adjusted to climate change
German-Italian research project investigates different cutting tools from
the Sesselfelsgrotte cave

Date:
August 28, 2020
Source:
Friedrich-Alexander-Universita"t Erlangen-Nu"rnberg
Summary:
Climate change occurring shortly before their disappearance
triggered a complex change in the behavior of late Neanderthals
in Europe: they developed more complex tools, suggests new research.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Climate change occurring shortly before their disappearance triggered
a complex change in the behaviour of late Neanderthals in Europe: they developed more complex tools. This is the conclusion reached by a group
of researchers from Friedrich-Alexander-Universita"t Erlangen-Nu"rnberg
(FAU) and Universita` degli Studi die Ferrara (UNIFE) on the basis of
finds in the Sesselfelsgrotte cave in Lower Bavaria.


========================================================================== Neanderthals lived approximately 400,000 to 40,000 years ago in large
areas of Europe and the Middle East, even as far as the outer edges of
Siberia. They produced tools using wood and glass-like rock material,
which they also sometimes combined, for example to make a spear with a
sharp and hard point made of stone.

From approximately 100,000 years ago, their universal cutting and
scraping tool was a knife made of stone, the handle consisting of a
blunt edge on the tool itself. These Keilmesser (backed, asymmetrical bifacially-shaped knives) were available in various shapes, leading
researchers to wonder why the Neanderthals created such a variety of
knives? Did they use different knives for different tasks or did the
knives come from different sub-groups of Neanderthals? This was what
the international research project hoped to find out.

Keilmesser are the answer "Keilmesser are a reaction to the highly
mobile lifestyle during the first half of the last ice age. As they
could be sharpened again as and when necessary, they were able to
be used for a long time -- almost like a Swiss army knife today,"
says Prof. Dr. Thorsten Uthmeier from the Institute of Prehistory and
Early History at FAU. "However, people often forget that bi-facially
worked knives were not the only tools Neanderthals had. Backed knives
from the Neanderthal period are surprisingly varied," adds his Italian colleague Dr.

Davide Delpiano from Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche
at UNIFE.

"Our research uses the possibilities offered by digital analysis of 3D
models to discover similarities and differences between the various types
of knives using statistical methods." The two researchers investigated artefacts from one of the most important Neanderthal sites in Central
Europe, the Sesselfelsgrotte cave in Lower Bavaria. During excavations in
the cave conducted by the Institute of Prehistory and Early History at
FAU, more than 100,000 artefacts and innumerable hunting remains left
behind by the Neanderthals have been found, even including evidence
of a Neanderthal burial. The researchers have now analysed the most
significant knife-like tools using 3D scans produced in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Marc Stamminger and Dr. Frank Bauer from the Chair of Visual Computing at the Department of Computer Science at FAU. They allow the
form and properties of the tool to be recorded extremely precisely.

"The technical repertoire used to create Keilmesser is not only direct
proof of the advanced planning skills of our extinct relatives, but also
a strategical reaction to the restrictions imposed upon them by adverse
natural conditions," says Uthmeier, FAU professor for Early Prehistory
and Archaeology of Prehistoric Hunters and Gatherers.

Other climate, other tools What Uthmeier refers to as 'adverse natural conditions' are climate changes after the end of the last interglacial
more than 100,000 years ago.

Particularly severe cold phases during the following Weichsel glacial
period began more than 60,000 years ago and led to a shortage of natural resources. In order to survive, the Neanderthals had to become more
mobile than before, and adjust their tools accordingly.

The Neanderthals probably copied the functionality of unifacial backed
knives, which are only shaped on one side, and used these as the starting
point to develop bi-facially formed Keilmesser shaped on both sides. "This
is indicated in particular by similarities in the cutting edge, which
consists in both instances of a flat bottom and a convex top, which was predominantly suited for cutting lengthwise, meaning that it is quite
right to refer to the tool as a knife," says Davide Delpiano from UNIFE.

Both types of knife -- the simpler older version and the newer,
significantly more complex version -- obviously have the same
function. The most important difference between the two tools investigated
in this instance is the longer lifespan of bi-facial tools. Keilmesser therefore represent a high-tech concept for a long-life, multi-functional
tool, which could be used without any additional accessories such as a
wooden handle.

"Studies from other research groups seem to support our interpretation,"
says Uthmeier. "Unlike some people have claimed, the disappearance of
the Neanderthals cannot have been a result of a lack of innovation or methodical thinking."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Friedrich-Alexander-Universita"t_Erlangen-Nu"rnberg.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Davide Delpiano, Thorsten Uthmeier. Techno-functional and 3D shape
analysis applied for investigating the variability of backed tools
in the Late Middle Paleolithic of Central Europe. PLOS ONE, 2020;
15 (8): e0236548 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236548 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200828115359.htm

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