A new study published this month suggests Neanderthals were more cognitively advanced than previously realized. Apparently, they had an eye for jewelry, evidenced by their work on eagle talons. This piece shows all the talons and the phalanx (a bone found in the feet or hands of vertebrates). Click through to see more of these very, very ancient examples of jewelry-making:
University of Kansas
A talon and the phalanx, showing cut marks. The talons are among the thousands of human remains, animal bones and tools originally excavated between 1899 and 1905 in present-day Croatia.
University of Kansas
Three cut marks (noted by A, B and C) are preserved on the lateral surface of this talon. An eroded area (noted by D) can be seen near the proximal edge of the joint. Kansas University's David Frayer only recently identified the cut marks and notches on the 130,000-year-old bones as ones modified by humans.
University of Kansas
A phalanx (foot bone) is seen with cut marks. A scanning electron microscope shows an extreme close-up on the right. The markings, including polishes and areas where the bones were "rubbed together," show that the talons were "manipulated into a piece of jewelry," Frayer said.
University of Kansas
Here are three examples of human manipulation: A) Smoothed cut marks on the articular facet. B) A burnished area near the tip. C) A nick on the otherwise sharp plantar margin.
University of Kansas
A right talon shows two cut marks with smoothed edges. Frayer said all this points to sophisticated creatures concerned with ornamentation and possibly even an "advanced level of prowess" in catching birds.
