As we live through an era of rapid expansion in our understanding of our distant ancestors, the Neanderthals, we’re learning they may not have been so distant after all. According to a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, evidence from Üçağızlı II Cave in southern Türkiye suggests that Neanderthals and modern humans may have shared a common culture for as long as 20,000 years.
Ancient DNA has been telling us for years that Homo sapiens (us) and Neanderthals (our cousins) interbred after modern humans left Africa. What we didn’t know was what any of those interactions looked like. New research suggests it looks a lot like cross-cultural interactions today. Humans and Neanderthals shared technology, swapped hunting tips, and exchanged symbolic customs.
Researchers found that Neanderthals lived in the cave between roughly 77,000 and 59,000 years ago, with modern humans appearing immediately afterward and remaining there until about 47,000 years ago. Despite the turnover of one species to another, the archaeological record barely changed. Both groups made the same stone tools, hunted the same wild goats, deer, and boars, and collected the same tiny Mediterranean snail shells, which they likely used as ornaments or symbols.
Neanderthals and Early Humans May Have Shared Tools, Hunting Habits, and Even Jewelry
In fact, that small detail about the snail shells is probably the most revealing. Collecting those shells had long been considered an act exclusive to Homo sapiens, but the discovery that Neanderthals deliberately collected the exact shells means both species weren’t living parallel lives that happened to mirror each other. It means they were exchanging ideas and traditions, resulting in shared behaviors with no practical use beyond cultural significance.
The cave can be found in the Levant, the vast stretch of the eastern Mediterranean that roughly spans Cyprus, Iraq, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey. As waves of Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa, they likely encountered Neanderthals in this region along the way. There isn’t a ton of archaeological evidence from this era, which makes finds like this one so significant.
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