Animal skulls found in a Spanish cave may reveal Neanderthal rituals

[clive Grazalema]

El pais in English has a fascinating article about the recent discoveries in a cave north of Madrid.

Juan Luis Arsuaga, the co-director of Spain’s Atapuerca archaeological site, was recently involved in a discovery that, he says, entails using a little imagination and keeping an open mind. After that, people can draw their own conclusions.

The story begins as follows: about 70,000 years ago, in a cave in the Lozoya valley, north of Madrid, Spain, Neanderthals deposited the skulls and horns of huge animals – bison, wild bulls, deer, rhinoceroses. They removed the animals’ brains, ate them carefully to avoid damaging the horns, and then took the remains to the cave, lit a small fire and covered them with stone slabs. Up to 35 skulls were found two meters deep in the ground, which means that this was a ritual that went on for “years, decades, centuries, even millennia.” According to Arsuaga, this site is the only place in the world where something like this has been found.

Full article here: https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2023-02-20/animal-skulls-found-in-a-spanish-cave-may-reveal-neanderthal-rituals.html

An illustration depicting a hypothetical Neanderthal ritual, provided by the Museum of Human Evolution. Albert Alvarez Marsal

---

Take a trip on the Wildside!

https://wildsideholidays.co.uk (Wildlife and nature holidays in Spain)

https://grazalemaguide.com/ (All my web projects in one portal and everything you need to know about Grazalema)

[Author]

Posts