Archaeologists have uncovered intriguing similarities between the behavior of Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, one of our closest extinct relatives.
In a study published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, a team of researchers led by Amélie Vallerand of the University of Montreal's Department of Anthropology, found striking parallels between how Neanderthals and modern humans made use of space in their dwellings.
Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) were a human species that lived in Eurasia until their disappearance around 40,000 years ago. In certain regions and periods, they coexisted with anatomically modern humans—and even interbred with us.
Traditionally, experts considered Neanderthal behavior to be less complex than that of our own species. But over the past decades, a growing body of evidence has challenged this view, with research indicating that aspects of Neanderthal behavior were comparable in complexity and diversity to prehistoric Homo sapiens.
The latest study lends further support to this view, detailing evidence of similarities in how modern humans and Neanderthals used space.
The study's authors wrote: "Because it is often assumed that fundamental behavioral differences distinguish Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, the ability to structure space within the sites they occupied into distinct activity areas is often invoked as a key distinctive trait of our species.
"However, this behavior has never been assessed for both groups at a single site, hindering direct comparisons to date," the authors said.
To help resolve this issue, the team analyzed artifacts and features from the Riparo Bombrini site in northwestern Italy—a collapsed rock shelter that preserves evidence of settlement by Neanderthals and, subsequently, Homo sapiens. The two species occupied the site in relatively close succession, although there is no evidence that they met.
Neanderthals were present at the site between 45,000 and 42,000 years ago, whereas evidence of Homo sapiens activity stretches from 41,500-36,000 years ago. At the time, both species were mobile hunter-gatherers who used the site as a temporary campsite, rather than a permanent home.
"We conducted this study to better understand the behavior and cognitive abilities of Neanderthals compared to Homo sapiens," Vallerand told Newsweek. "By analyzing the spatial organization of archaeological sites like Riparo Bombrini, we aimed to uncover insights into how these ancient human relatives lived and interacted with their environments."
The researchers mapped the distribution of stone tools, animal bones, ocher and marine shells across the surface of the site. This enabled them to identify distinct clusters of artifacts and materials, which helped to shed light on the behaviors of the different groups that lived at the site.
The analysis revealed common patterns of settlement between the two populations.
Among the findings, the researchers determined that both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens exhibited a structured use of the space, organizing their living areas into distinct high- and low-intensity zones of activity. These distinct zones were used for different activities, such as butchering animals, making tools and sleeping.
This suggests Neanderthals and modern humans shared comparable cognitive capacities for spatial organization, according to the study's authors.
In addition, the main tendencies of occupation for both groups were maintained over thousands of years as the site was occupied, abandoned and reoccupied numerous times. For example, it is evident that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens utilized the same position within the rock shelter again and again to create a hearth, which indicates a similar way of thinking.
"Like Homo sapiens, Neanderthals organized their living space in a structured way, according to the different tasks that took place there and to their needs," Vallerand said in a press release. "So this is yet another study indicating that Neanderthals were more 'human' than is generally assumed."
"This research challenges previous assumptions about the cognitive capacity and behavioral complexity of Neanderthals," the researcher told Newsweek. "The similarities in how Neanderthals and Homo sapiens organized their living spaces suggest that Neanderthals were more cognitively complex than previously thought. This has implications for our understanding of human evolution and the interactions between different hominin species."
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Update 05/08/24 at 1:25 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include additional comments from Amélie Vallerand.
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