The traces discovered on the sand on a Spanish beach were left by a Neanderthal child 100,000 years ago “jumping irregularly as if dancing,” the study shows.
The fingerprints were discovered due to stormy weather and tides in June 2020 and were seen by a pair of biologists walking on the sand.
They came across what was later discovered to be a Neanderthal watering hole, dating back 100,000 years to the end of the Pleistocene.
The site, on the Matalascanas beach in Spain, is located between Huelva and Cadiz and is the place where the ancestors of modern people would drink, hunt, look for seafood and even let their children play in the water with animals.
Paleontologists at the University of Huelva say this is the oldest known example of Neanderthal footprints on the Iberian Peninsula.
Traces discovered on the sand on a Spanish beach were left by a Neanderthal child 100,000 years ago “jumping irregularly as if dancing,” the study shows.
They came across what was later discovered to be a Neanderthal watering hole, dating back 100,000 years to the end of the Pleistocene.
This image shows a close-up view of the sand where the ancient Neanderthals once stood
At least 87 footprints were found at the scene, including evidence of a Neanderthal child jumping and possibly even dancing in the sand.
They were discovered on a site that was slowly discovered due to sand dune erosion, according to study author Eduardo Mayoral.
He says it may be harder to track down early Neanderthals, as there are often no bones to be analyzed or analyzed, so they rely on fingerprints and other “fossil records.”
“The biological and ethological information of ancient groups of hominins, when there are no bone remains, are provided by the study of their fossil footprints, which show us certain” frozen “moments of their existence,” he explained.
They analyzed the fingerprints using 3D models and took detailed sediment analyzes to characterize them and the environment in which they were found.
The fingerprints had a rounded heel, a longitudinal arch, relatively short toes and a non-opposable thumb, the team found.
“They are the oldest record of Upper Pleistocene Neanderthal fingerprints in the world,” Mayoral added.
Of the 87 fingerprints, 37 were complete enough to reflect the size of the Neanderthal foot, measuring 5 inches to 11 inches long.
The site, on the Matalascanas beach in Spain, is located between Huelva and Cadiz and is the place where the ancestors of modern people would drink, hunt, look for seafood and even let their children play in the water with animals.
Of the 87 fingerprints, 37 were complete enough to reflect the size of the Neanderthal foot, measuring 5 inches to 11 inches long.
This allowed the team to calculate that the people at the “watering hole” were between 3 ft 4 inches and 6 ft 1 inch tall, most between 4ft and 5ft. ‘
“The wide range of footprint sizes suggests the existence of an integrated social group of individuals of different age groups, but still dominated by non-adult individuals,” Mayoral said.
Of the traces, seven belonged to children, 15 to adolescents and nine were left by adults – the youngest two belonging to a six-year-old child.
The longest four footprints belonged to a person over 6 ft, who Mayoral says is significantly higher than a Neanderthal’s maximum expected height, so it may be incorrect or was made by a smaller individual with more movement.
These show areas where humans and animals once lived, the MTS area is the Matalascañas trampled area, the name of the beach, and HTS is the Hominin trampled area, revealed by storms and where the Neanderthal once went.
The team found that the marks had a rounded heel, a longitudinal arch, relatively short fingers and a non-opposable thumb.
There was a microbial carpet, which suggests an area of life, once under water, as seen in this close-up image showing remnants of halite mold, possibly related to salt water.
“The wide range of footprint sizes suggests the existence of an integrated social group of individuals of different age classes, but still dominated by non-adult individuals,” Mayoral said.
He said they were able to better understand the behavior of the Neanderthal group by studying fingerprint positioning.
“Neanderthals are hunter-gatherers, so the reasons for their presence are mainly due to travel, resource transport or feeding strategies,” Mayoral added.
Almost a quarter of the group consisted of children, most of whom were found right at the edge of what was once the watering hole itself.
“This could involve a hunting strategy, tracking animals in the water, probably waterfowl and limousines or small carnivores, or even fishing or searching for fish or mollusks,” he said.
The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports.
A close relative of modern humans, Neanderthals became extinct 40,000 years ago
The Neanderthals were a close human ancestor, who mysteriously died about 40,000 years ago.
The species lived in Africa with the first humans for millennia before moving to Europe about 300,000 years ago.
They were later joined by humans, who entered Eurasia about 48,000 years ago.
The Neanderthals were a summer species of humans, but not a direct ancestor – the two species separated from a common ancestor – which perished about 50,000 years ago. In the picture is an exhibition of the Neanderthal museum
These were the original “cavemen” who are believed to be wise and brutal compared to modern humans.
However, in recent years, and especially in the last decade, it has become increasingly clear that we sell short Neanderthals.
A growing body of evidence indicates a more sophisticated and talented type of “cave man” than anyone thought possible.
Now it seems likely that Neanderthals said, buried their dead, painted and even crossed paths with humans.
They used body art, such as pigments and beads, and were the first artists, with Neanderthal rock art (and symbolism) from Spain, apparently, predating the oldest modern human art by about 20,000 years.
They are believed to have hunted on land and fished. However, they disappeared about 40,000 years ago following the success of Homo sapiens in Europe.