65,000-year-old hearth in Gibraltar may have been a Neanderthal 'glue factory,' study finds

Live Science ^ | 21 Nov 2024 | Kiona Smith

[blueplum]

Archaeologists in the Iberian Peninsula have discovered a 65,000-year-old tar-making "factory" engineered by Neanderthals — a feat pulled off 20,000 years before modern humans (Homo sapiens) set foot in the region, a new study finds.

The sticky tar helped Neanderthals produce glue to make weapons and tools. The so-called factory — a carefully designed hearth — enabled the Neanderthals to precisely control the fire and manage the temperature of the flame that produced their gooey creations....

...the newfound hearth, seemingly dug into the floor of a cave in what is now Gibraltar, shows that Neanderthals were skilled engineers who had fine-tuned the glue-making process....

[Sarcazmo]

The dumb Neanderthals used to eat it.

[Ezekiel]

🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎 🐎

[Does so]

Gibraltar appears to be very productive archeological locale.

(In addition to being a geographical thorn in the side of sovereign Spain).

[HombreSecreto]

[USAF1985]

Blücher!!!

[Ezekiel]

Neanderthal 'glue factory,'

Looks to me like this article could use a Far Side caption:

"Early horsey paste."

[logi_cal869]

It’s a pleasure to read about good science.

Thanks for posting!

[GreenHornet]

A Neanderthal having a particularly bad day: “Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.”

[Tom Tetroxide]

[Candor7]

Hey Fred,

They found our old glue factory.

It was great making those insect traps so we could collect honey.

The bows and arrows we made with that glue brought home the bacon for sure. LOL.

[carcraft]

“primitive” people were not so “ primitive “. They observed, created hypothesis’s, experiment etc. People seem to forget many native American tribes were “ Stone Age “ people. How quickly they adapted to using horses, steel etc.

[rlmorel]

[rlmorel]

I am reading the Mel Brooks autobiography now, and in it he says that the worst production problem he had with "Young Frankenstein" was that they kept having to do retakes of scenes because there was always someone on the set who just couldn't control their laughter!

He got so angry about it he purchased 100 handkerchiefs and distributed them to the film crews with instructions to stuff them in their mouths if they felt like they were going to laugh!

[Migraine]

So simple even a caveman could do it.

[SunkenCiv]

They sniffed it.

[SunkenCiv]

The horse track will probably be found nearby, along with the betting window. Thanks E.

[Red Badger]

That’s my story and I’m sticking with it!.................

[dfwgator]

Damn your eyes!