Cave closed for 40,000 years could hold key to Neanderthals’ life

Last month, they found the 13-meter (42-foot) deep chamber at the back of the cave, along with a number of finds, including remains of lynx, hyena, and griffon vulture, as well as scratches on the walls made by an unidentified carnivore.

Clive Finlayson, director and chief scientist of the National Museum of Gibraltar, told CNN on Tuesday that perhaps the most impressive find was a large whelk or marine mollusk, as this suggested that the newly discovered parts of the cave had been inhabited by Neanderthals.

“The whelk is at the bottom of this cave … it’s probably about 20 yards from the beach,” he said. “Someone caught that whelk over there … over 40,000 years ago. So that already gave me a clue that people have been there, which maybe isn’t too surprising. . These people, because of their age, can only be Neanderthals. ”

Neanderthals, heavily built Stone Age hominids who died out about 40,000 years ago, lived in Europe long before the arrival of Homo sapiens.

Scratches on the bedroom wall, made by an unidentified carnivore.

courtesy of the National Museum of Gibraltar

Finlayson said the team also found the baby tooth of a Neanderthal who was around 4 years old and speculated that they could have been dragged into the cave by a hyena.

Entering the cave for the first time gave Finlayson goosebumps, he said, adding that it was one of the most exciting finds of his career – unique for the quality of preservation and possibilities of new information it presented.

“How many times in your life are you going to find something that no one has known for 40,000 years? It only happens once in your life, I think.”

Evidence of an earthquake around 4,000 years ago was also visible due to a change in the ice formations, with a previously formed ice sheet cut off and stalagmites growing under it.

The find is just the first step in a long dig, and Finlayson told CNN the chamber is just the cave’s roof, with a lot of work remaining to uncover the rest.

“As we dig it will only get bigger and bigger,” he said. “So there’s a good chance we have a huge cave there. And as we go down there may even be passages. So it’s extremely exciting.”

Finlayson said the remaining work would take decades or more, and he hoped to use the technology to take DNA samples from sediments and uncover more clues to Neanderthal lifestyles, including rituals. burial – and potentially also find footprints.