The claw from a now-endangered Spanish imperial eagle was discovered in 2015 by archeologists working at the Foradada Cave, a village in the Spanish province of Tarragona. The use of talons in Neanderthal jewellery is thought to have first spread around southern Europe as early as 120,000 years ago.
But the claw remnant is believed top be 40,000 years old – far more recent than previous examples – and towards the end of the Neanderthals’ rein, before they died out.
Neanderthals used eagle talons as symbolic elements, probably as necklace pendants
Antonio Rodriguez-Hidalgo
It is the “most recent known use of talons for adornments by Neanderthals”, and it is also the first to be found on the Iberian peninsula.
The find comes from the chatelperronian culture, typical from the last Neanderthals that lived in Europe.
This coincided with the moment when this species would have first encountered Homo Sapiens’ arrival from Africa.
The find adds to “the scarce evidence that ancient humans used animal parts for symbolic purposes as opposed to practical ones”.
The discovery contributes to the growing evidence of sophistication within this species, which was once considered to have no symbolic culture at all.
Eagle talons have previously been found at Neanderthal sites across Europe.
Previous research suggest these ancient humans may have used seashells as beads to convey ideas such as rank and social status with symbolic objects.
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Antonio Rodriguez-Hidalgo, a researcher at the Institute of Evolution in Africa and study leader, said: “Neanderthals used eagle talons as symbolic elements, probably as necklace pendants.”
The researchers used 3D computer modelling to analyse the cut marks on the talon and radiocarbon dating methods to calculate its age.
The archeologists found deep marks on the ancient artefact showed evidence of “anthropic manipulation”.
This indicating they had been made by our ancestors using tools.
Mr Rodriguez-Hidalgo believes the talon may have featured in “the last necklace made by the Neanderthals”.
Juan Ignacio Morales, a researcher at the University of Barcelona and one of the study authors, added the use of eagle claws as ornaments “could have been a cultural transmission from the Neanderthals to modern humans, who adopted this practice after reaching Europe”.
Claw bones from birds of prey have been unearthed at various Neanderthal sites over the years.
But the oldest ones, found in Croatia, could be date as much as 130,000 years ago, predating the arrival of modern humans.
The Croatia talons are now regarded as the earliest known symbolic Neanderthal artefact.
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