Researchers have made a remarkable discovery in a Neanderthal cave in northern Spain. A stash of 15 marine fossils has been found, suggesting that these extinct hominids may have had a similar passion for accumulating things as modern humans do with baseball cards, stamps, and memorabilia. Currently, there is "no valid hypothesis" to explain this hoard of seemingly useless objects, but it is hypothesized that Neanderthal children may have been the ones to gather these eye-catching specimens.

Indications of Advanced Cognition through Collecting

Collecting may seem like a basic behavior, but it actually indicates advanced cognition. It requires items to be given symbolic meaning. The extent to which Neanderthals were capable of such abstract thought is still a topic of debate, although there is mounting evidence suggesting their surprisingly complex imaginations. For example, they produced art, cared for the elderly and disabled, and may have even developed religious practices like the worship of a "bear cult".

Unique Hoard of 15 Marine Fossils

In most cases, Neanderthal collections consist of just one or two items. However, the 15 fossils recovered from the Prado Vargas Cave represent a unique and unprecedented hoard. These fossils can be seen as evidence of an artistic interest or an attraction to the forms of nature. Perhaps, like modern humans, those who collected them derived pleasure from the act of looking for, finding, and keeping them. Dated between 39,800 and 54,600 years ago, this compilation of fossils comes from a time and place with no known Homo sapiens presence, suggesting that collecting activities and associated abstract thinking were present in Neanderthals before modern humans arrived.

Possibility of Children's Collection

While the researchers are certain that the fossils have some meaning and symbolize something, the debate continues about who collected them and why. Despite not having a solid answer, the authors speculate that they might have been collected by children. Modern human kids are often passionate about amassing stickers, sea shells, and even bottle tops. And remnants of Neanderthal children were found in Prado Vargas. It could be that the youngest members of the group, fascinated by these forms, started the collection.

Linking Our Behavior to Neanderthals

Tugging on the thread that connects our behavior to that of our extinct relatives, the writers predict that Neanderthal groups in the Prado Vargas cave gathered and collected fossils, just as we look for fossils, even of these human species, to study and eventually "collect" them in museums. This seems to form an infinite spiral where, at some point, we will be part of what we collect.