They developed a stepwise distillation method with oxygen limitation and underfloor heating to obtain the adhesive. It was used to combine stone, bone and wood in Neanderthal tools and weapons.
The scientists analyzed chemical residues found on ancient Neanderthal tools and compared them to adhesive formulations repurposed from birch sap.
They used infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography, and microcomputerized tomography. The results showed that the production of this type of adhesive required a method too complex to be accidental, pointing to the enhanced cognitive abilities of Neanderthals.
This discovery highlights that Neanderthals had advanced technological skills and were a more advanced society than previously thought.
It also casts doubt on the idea that intelligence is a characteristic of Homo sapiens. Many technological innovations that were previously considered inventions of Homo sapiens were already in use by Neanderthals.
Source: Ferra
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