{"id":11315,"date":"2015-01-22T15:47:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-22T15:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reasons.org\/publications\/did-neanderthals-make-art\/"},"modified":"2015-01-22T15:47:00","modified_gmt":"2015-01-22T15:47:00","slug":"did-neanderthals-make-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/adam-eve\/early-humans\/did-neanderthals-make-art","title":{"rendered":"Did Neanderthals Make Art?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When it comes to art, there\u2019s often no accounting for taste. Art critics and philosophers aren\u2019t the only people who debate what is or isn\u2019t art; anthropologists do as well. This debate has significant consequences for understanding the origin of art and, ultimately, the origin of humanity.<\/p>\n

Many anthropologists consider artistic expression a defining feature of modern humans. Based on recent studies, however, others maintain that Neanderthals (and maybe even Homo erectus<\/em>) possessed the capacity to make art (or at least proto<\/em>-art) as evinced by markings on bedrock and marine shells. But are these markings really art? And if they are art, must they be attributed to these hominids?<\/p>\n

A number of Christian scholars (myself included) consider artistic expression a reflection of the image of God\u2014a quality unique to modern humans. But if Neanderthals (and even H. erectus<\/em>) made art, the idea of human uniqueness, and with it the scientific credibility the Bible\u2019s view of humanity, would face serious questions.<\/p>\n

Neanderthal Rock Engravings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recently, researchers from Spain discovered hatch marks made in the bedrock<\/a> of Gorham\u2019s Cave of Gibraltar.1 The markings are more than 39,000 years old. The layer immediately above the bedrock dated between 30,000 and 38,000 years old and contained Neanderthal-produced artifacts, leading the team to conclude that these hominids made the markings.<\/p>\n

This is not the first time anthropologists have made such a claim. In the summer of 2012, researchers from Spain and the UK announced the discovery of evidence for Neanderthal cave art in multiple Spanish cave sites. But there are problems with this assertion (see here<\/a>). Likewise, the most recent claim faces challenges.<\/p>\n

First, it is debatable if the hatch marks reflect the capacity for symbolism and, hence, artistic expression. It seems they were made intentionally and do appear to display a geometric patterning\u2014but, the \u201cartist\u2019s\u201d intent is unclear. Did he or she mean to communicate anything at all by making those marks? Could the geometric quality of the patterns be coincidental? Not to be trite, but my English bulldog has occasionally left geometric-looking scratch marks on our furniture. Though Archie scratched the furniture on purpose, it would be very hard to argue that he was engaged in artistic expression. Why couldn\u2019t we interpret the cave markings the same way?<\/p>\n

For the sake of argument, let us assume the engravings demonstrate symbolism. Can these cut marks rightly be attributed to the work of Neanderthals? Not really. The latest dating of Neanderthal remains indicates that these hominids went extinct in Iberia well over 40,000 years ago<\/a>. If so, then there is no way Neanderthals could have produced hatch marks that were 39,000 years old.<\/p>\n

It makes better sense to attribute the \u201cmotifs\u201d in the bedrock to modern humans, particularly because the archeological record indicates that we have been engaged in symbolism for at least 80,000 years<\/a> (even, possibly, since we first appeared on Earth around 130,000 years ago). On the other hand, there is no evidence for Neanderthal symbolism. (Recent analysis now suggests that the so-called Chatelperronian culture<\/a>, which included symbolism, never existed.) Archeological evidence for Neanderthal use of symbolism appears to be artificial, arising from the mixing of cave layers. Artifacts produced by modern humans have been mistakenly attributed to Neanderthals.<\/p>\n

A recent study supports modern humans as the source of the bedrock engarvings.2 Based on improved radiocarbon dating methodology, it looks as if modern humans made their way into Europe closer to 44,000 years ago (traditional understanding held to 40,000 years ago). This earlier arrival would have given modern humans plenty of time to produce the hatch marks in Gorham\u2019s Cave.<\/p>\n

Marine Shell Engravings Made by H. erectus<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Late in the fall of 2014, researchers from the Netherlands reported on the discovery of engravings on a marine shell that dates to 540,000 years ago.3 They attributed these markings to H. erectus<\/em>. This shell was part of a collection unearthed by Eugene Dubois<\/a>in the 1890s. Dubois collected shells near the same location where he discovered the first H. erectus<\/em> remains (a skull cap). At that time, Dubois recovered nearly 200 articulated shells, valves, and shell fragments.<\/p>\n

Recently, researchers re-examined Dubois\u2019 collection (which includes 11 freshwater mussel species) and discovered perforations located just above the anterior abductor muscle in many of the shells. It looked as if these hominids used something sharp, such as a shark tooth, to puncture the shell in such a way as to damage the muscle used to keep the valves closed, making it easy to open the mussel and gain access to the fleshly part of the organism. This is impressive behavior\u2014yet it is on par with activities observed in wild chimpanzees<\/a> and, therefore, not troubling for the biblical view of human uniqueness.<\/p>\n

The question is whether the engravings discovered on one of the marine shells evince artistic expression on the part of H. erectus<\/em>. It appears that the \u201cartist\u201d made intentional geometric patterns on the shell. Sediment within the shell dates to 540,000 years in age. On this basis, there is no way to attribute the patterns to modern humans. It truly appears that the H. erectus<\/em> made the markings.<\/p>\n

Are these markings truly art or is their geometric pattern merely happenstance? Of nearly 200 shells and shell fragments, only one displays any supposedly artistic markings at all. If these markings reflect some sort of inherent capabilities on the part of their maker, why are they unique to a single shell? In fact, to my knowledge, no other erectine archeological site\u2014anywhere in the world\u2014shows any evidence for symbolism or even proto<\/em>-symbolism.<\/p>\n

When all the evidence is critically examined, only modern humans display the capacity for artistic expression. And only human beings can debate about what is and isn\u2019t art.<\/p>\n

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Endnotes<\/h5>\n
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  1. Joaqu\u00edn Rodr\u00edguez-Vidal et al., \u201cA Rock Engraving Made by Neanderthals in Gibraltar<\/a>,\u201d Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/em>, USA 111 (September 16, 2014): 13301\u20136.<\/li>\n
  2. Philip R. Nigst et al., \u201cEarly Modern Human Settlement of Europe North of the Alps Occurred 43,500 Years Ago in a Cold Steppe-Style Environment<\/a>,\u201d Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/em>, USA 111 (October 7, 2014): 14394\u201399.<\/li>\n
  3. Josephine C. A. Joordens et al., \u201cHomo erectus<\/em> at Trinil on Java Used Shells for Tool Production and Engraving<\/a>,\u201d Nature<\/em>, published online December 3, 2014, DOI:10.1038\/nature13962, https:\/\/www.nature.com\/nature\/journal\/vaop\/ncurrent\/full\/nature13962.html.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Explore the debate on Neanderthals’ artistic abilities, examining archaeological evidence and its implications for human uniqueness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":579,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_person_authors":[],"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":"","_classifai_error":"","_classifai_text_to_speech_error":"","_classifai_text_to_speech_scheduled":false},"categories":[63962,63968],"tags":[71135,70622,70714],"discipline":[64067],"reading-level":[64149],"class_list":["post-11315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-early-humans","category-image-god","tag-artistic-expression","tag-archeology","tag-scientific-inquiry","discipline-archaeology","reading-level-advanced-deep-dive"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDid Neanderthals Make Art? - Reasons to Believe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore the debate on Neanderthals' artistic abilities, examining archaeological evidence and its implications for human uniqueness.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/reasons.org\/adam-eve\/early-humans\/did-neanderthals-make-art\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Did Neanderthals Make Art?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Explore the debate on Neanderthals' artistic abilities, examining archaeological evidence and its implications for human uniqueness.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/reasons.org\/adam-eve\/early-humans\/did-neanderthals-make-art\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Reasons to Believe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RTBOfficial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-01-22T15:47:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Fazale \u201cFuz\u201d Rana\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@rtb_official\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@rtb_official\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Fazale \u201cFuz\u201d Rana\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reasons.org\\\/adam-eve\\\/early-humans\\\/did-neanderthals-make-art#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reasons.org\\\/adam-eve\\\/early-humans\\\/did-neanderthals-make-art\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Fazale \u201cFuz\u201d Rana\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reasons.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/af6c3c9b62bf3619ce1041d5b8a3c82d\"},\"headline\":\"Did Neanderthals Make Art?\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-01-22T15:47:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reasons.org\\\/adam-eve\\\/early-humans\\\/did-neanderthals-make-art\"},\"wordCount\":1068,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reasons.org\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Artistic Expression\",\"Archeology\",\"Scientific Inquiry\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Early Humans\",\"Image of God\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/reasons.org\\\/adam-eve\\\/early-humans\\\/did-neanderthals-make-art#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reasons.org\\\/adam-eve\\\/early-humans\\\/did-neanderthals-make-art\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reasons.org\\\/adam-eve\\\/early-humans\\\/did-neanderthals-make-art\",\"name\":\"Did Neanderthals Make Art? 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Genetics, anthropology, and archaeology provide fascinating clues.\r\n\r\nLet\u2019s explore the earliest generations of human history and how they align with both science and biblical truth.","cat_name":"Early Humans","category_nicename":"early-humans","category_parent":63960},{"term_id":63968,"name":"Image of God","slug":"image-god","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":63968,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Humans are unique beings with unmatched qualities of rationality, creativity, and morality. We have the ability to form deep relationships\u2014reflecting the very nature of our Creator. But is this just a theological idea? Is there any scientific evidence for human uniqueness?\r\n\r\nExplore how Scripture and science affirm that we are not advanced animals. Humans are completely different beings with inherent dignity, purpose, and a divine calling.","parent":63960,"count":143,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0","cat_ID":63968,"category_count":143,"category_description":"Humans are unique beings with unmatched qualities of rationality, creativity, and morality. We have the ability to form deep relationships\u2014reflecting the very nature of our Creator. But is this just a theological idea? Is there any scientific evidence for human uniqueness?\r\n\r\nExplore how Scripture and science affirm that we are not advanced animals. Humans are completely different beings with inherent dignity, purpose, and a divine calling.","cat_name":"Image of God","category_nicename":"image-god","category_parent":63960}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":71135,"name":"Artistic Expression","slug":"artistic-expression","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":71126,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":13,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":70622,"name":"Archeology","slug":"archeology","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":70619,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":60,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":70714,"name":"Scientific Inquiry","slug":"scientific-inquiry","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":70711,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":30,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11315\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11315"},{"taxonomy":"discipline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/discipline?post=11315"},{"taxonomy":"reading-level","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reasons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-level?post=11315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}