The Treasures of the Community of Madrid in the Valley of the Neanderthals, located in Pinilla del Valle, one of the most exceptional archaeological finds of recent years that would confirm the symbolic capacity of Neanderthals.
This is the result of the study started 14 years ago by the research team of the sites that make up this space, led by archaeologist Enrique Baquedano; paleontologist Juan Luis Arsuaga, scientific director of the Museum of Human Evolution and co-director of the Atapuerca (Burgos) sites, and geologist Alfredo Pérez-González, whose conclusions were published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.
Specifically, the research focuses on the Neanderthal archaeological site of Cueva Des-Cubierta in Pinilla del Valle. Located in 2009, it is a long gallery-cave with dropped ceilings, that is, it does not maintain its original coverage. An exceptional set of skulls of large herbivores was recovered from it, some of them associated with small fires.
All skulls in this hunting sanctuary were prepared by Neanderthals following the same pattern.
Among the remains are bison (Bison priscus), aurochs (Bos primigenius), deer (Cervus elaphus) and two rhinos of the species Stephanorhinus hemitoechus, which were prepared by Neanderthals following the same pattern: removing the mandible and the maxilla. the brains, and leaving the part of the skull with the horns or antlers as hunting trophies.
In addition, according to the research, this same activity was maintained over at least several generations, which introduces the concept of cultural tradition that would have passed from generation to generation. Along with these skulls, Musterian stone tools, typical of Neanderthals, appeared, as well as the anvils and hammers used to break them.
According to experts, this behavior of Neanderthals a little over 40,000 years old is not related to subsistence activities, but to other activities that shed light on largely unknown aspects of this hominid species: its symbolic capacities, until now only attributed to our species.
On-site survey work in the city of Madrid has been ongoing for 14 years. /CENIEH
An intellectual attribute shared with sapiens
On the other hand, until now there is no other archaeological site in the entire Neanderthal territory with a set similar to that of Pinilla del Valle, which makes the Cueva Des-Cubierta an exceptional place that opens doors to a new concept about this species. and questions our role as unique sapiens in the evolution of life on the planet.
Until now, our species was considered the only one with the ability to attribute concepts to symbols, a theory that, based on the discoveries of Cueva Des-Cubierta, forces us to share this intellectual attribute with Neanderthals.
Since the investigation began in 2002 by the current investigation team at Calvero de la Higuera in Pinilla del Valle, an archaeological zone protected as a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC), every summer, for at least a month, excavations are carried out that made possible to explain this finding.
The Pinilla del Valle sites are one of the most important enclaves to learn about Neanderthal ways of life
The Cueva Des-Cubierta, together with the neighboring Cueva del Camino, Abrigo de NavalmaÃllo and Cueva de la Buena Pinta, constitute the only places in the Community of Madrid where fossil remains of hominids have been found. Its analysis is allowing to unveil the keys to the behavior of Homo neanderthalensis. Furthermore, at the Cueva Chica site, discovered in 2021, the first European Homo sapiens, the Cro-Magnons, are being studied.
Ways of life and forms of interaction with the environment
This research confirms that the Pinilla del Valle sites are one of the most important enclaves to learn about Neanderthal ways of life and ways of interacting with the environment.
The Archaeological Park of the Valley of the Neanderthals, open to the public by the Community of Madrid since 2015 and which will reopen on April 1, allows visitors to discover such a unique archaeological site in situ.
The Museum of the Neanderthal Valley will open in 2025 once the museum project is developed
The Community built the future Museum of the Valley of the Neanderthals, promoted by the Archaeological and Paleontological Museum of the Community of Madrid, whose works have been completed and which will open in 2025, once the museological project has been developed. There you can see part of the finds from the excavations (originals and replicas).
Since 2002, hundreds of students and researchers from all Spanish universities and numerous research centers and foreign universities have passed through the Pinilla del Valle deposits. It is one of the largest schools of field archeology on human evolution.
Reference:
Enrique Baquedano et al. “A symbolic Neanderthal accumulation of large herbivore skulls”. Nature Human Behavior, 2023