The earliest unambiguous Neanderthal engravings on cave walls: La Roche-Cotard, Loire Valley, France

Researchers have uncovered the earliest unambiguous Neanderthal engravings on cave walls, dating back over 57±3 thousand years ago at La Roche-Cotard (LRC) in the Loire Valley, France. The discovery, made within a cave sealed by cold-period sediments for millennia, provides direct evidence of Neanderthal abstract design capabilities. The study used optically stimulated luminescence dating on 50 sediment samples to determine the cave's closure timing, confirming that the engravings predate the arrival of Homo sapiens in the region. Taphonomic, traceological, and experimental analyses further validated the anthropogenic origin of the non-figurative marks. All artifacts within the cave are characteristic Mousterian lithics, uniquely attributed to Neanderthals in Western Europe, reinforcing the conclusion that these engravings represent a significant advancement in our understanding of Neanderthal cognitive and symbolic behavior.

Marquet, J.-C., Freiesleben, T. H., Thomsen, K. J., Murray, A. S., Calligaro, M., Macaire, J.-J., Robert, E., Lorblanchet, M., Aubry, T., Bayle, G., Bréhéret, J.-G., Camus, H., Chareille, P., Egels, Y., Guillaud, É., Guérin, G., Gautret, P., Liard, M., O’Farrell, M., et al. (2023). The earliest unambiguous Neanderthal engravings on cave walls: La Roche-Cotard, Loire Valley, France. Plos One, 18(6), e0286568. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286568