Scientists have suggested the presence of artistic abilities in Neanderthals

Researchers from Spain have discovered a stone with a pattern at one of the Neanderthal settlement sites, which, in their opinion, may indicate the presence of artistic abilities in ancient people. This was announced on May 28 by NBC.

The canvas for the creation of the work was a stone with curves that make it look like a human face. In the center of the alleged art object, scientists noticed a red dot where the nose should be. The study revealed that the dot was applied with a finger using ocher, a natural earthy pigment. These facts exclude the possibility of its accidental appearance.

"The researchers suggest that the Neanderthal, who, judging by the fingerprint, may have been an adult male, perceived the stone as something similar to a face and was inspired to complete the image, creating 'one of the oldest known abstractions of the human face in prehistoric records,'" the material says.

Thus, the discovery refutes the prevailing idea that the beginning of world art was laid by representatives of Homo sapiens, and probably indicates the presence of complex abstract thinking among ancient people.

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