Neanderthal ripping yarn
Cord find shows cavemen liked knitting
NEANDERTHAL man or woman may have unwound from all that hunting and gathering with a spot of knitting around the cave fire.
Scientists have discovered what they believe to be the first direct evidence of yarn making – a 40,000-year-old 6mm cord fragment.
Its Neanderthal creators would have needed basic numeracy skills to make bundles of the fibres. And the team who analysed the cord, found wrapped around a stone tool in Abri du Maras, France, said it showed they were far more advanced than previously thought.
Dr Marie-Helene Moncel, from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, said: “We are sure these fibres are not due to a natural process. We can imagine these twisted fibres could be the remains of a cord you could use for making bags.”
Study author Prof Bruce Hardy added: “The cognitive abilities for making string and rope are very similar to those for making language.
“Modern humans and Neanderthals interbred regularly. They couldn’t have been so different from us.”