Neanderthals built stalagmite circles

摘要

They worked by torchlight, following the same procedure hour after hour: wrench a stalagmite off the cave floor, remove the tip and base, and carefully lay it with the others. Today we can only guess as to why a group of Neanderthals built a series of large stalagmite structures in a French cave - but the fact they did provides a rare glimpse into our extinct cousin's potential for social organisation in a challenging environment. Gone are the days when we thought of Neanderthals as crude and unintelligent. Archaeological evidence now suggests they were capable of symbolic thought, had a basic knowledge of chemistry, medicine and cooking, and perhaps some capacity for speech.