Compared to written history, the history of humanity goes back much, much earlier. Archaeologists and scientists from other fields are constantly working to break the fog of the past. These studies make it possible to reveal tens of thousands of years of mysteries from time to time.
One of the last of these studies was carried out at the Gorham Cave Complex World Heritage Site in Gibraltar. Archaeological excavations have unearthed a cave where the last Neanderthal populations of Europe lived.
The cave where no one has set foot for 40 thousand years has been detected:
The newly discovered sequence of caves was unearthed at the end of studies that have been going on since 1997. It was discovered that this 13-meter-deep cave has been covered with sediment for at least the last 40,000 years.
In the first studies, in addition to the bones of lynx, jackal and vulture, claw marks of an unidentified carnivore were discovered on the cave walls. The biggest proof that Neanderthals lived in this cave is the remains of shellfish that were transported to this place, which is normally quite far from the sea. It is known that Neanderthals carried these creatures with them and used them as food.
In the past, Neanderthals were thought to be primitive hominids, but recent studies have revealed that Neanderthals formed communities just like us that buried their dead, decorated their bodies with gemstones, made art, and even used penicillin and cared for the wounded. It is estimated that new discoveries to be made in the cave will help to better understand the culture of this mysterious species.
Although Neanderthals are extinct, a small fraction of humans’ DNA comes from this lost, mysterious species.
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