A Neanderthal Tar Factory Was Uncovered In Gibraltar After Being Hidden For 65,000 Years
One of the earliest manufacturing sites on the planet is a “tar factory” built by Neanderthals in a cave in Gibraltar that has been hidden for 65,000 years.
Researchers discovered a small hearth in Vanguard Cave. Middle Paleolithic stone artifacts and plant residues suggest that Neanderthals produced tar that they used to craft tools and weapons.
The research team created a similar pit of their own to confirm the effectiveness of the technique. They gathered leaves, produced the tar, and made two spears in four hours. Overall, the discovery shows that Neanderthals had advanced technological skills.
It is evidence that Neanderthals used tar as an adhesive for attaching stone tools to wooden handles, a tool-making technique that predates current modern human tar adhesive use by over 100,000 years.
The “tar factory” in Vanguard Cave, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site called Gorham’s Cave complex, consisted of a round pit that was nine inches in diameter and three inches in depth. It had vertical sides and two trenches stretching out from either side of it. Each trench was an inch long.
“The structure…has revealed a hitherto unknown way by which Neanderthals managed and used fire,” wrote the researchers in the study.
Further analysis of the small pit revealed traces of guano from birds or bats, as well as chemicals created from burning matter and the remains of a protective wax found on the leaves of the rockrose plant.
The hearth was made about 20,000 years before modern humans appeared on the Iberian Peninsula. Archaeologists have known that prehistoric people used materials like tar and resin as an adhesive, but they were unaware of the intricate process used to make it until now.
To make tar, Neanderthals first filled the hearth with rockrose leaves. When they’re heated, they release a sticky substance.
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Then, they covered the pit with wet sand to keep oxygen out. They may have mixed in guano with the sand to make a stronger seal.
With a pile of thin twigs on top of the sand, they started a small fire. The rockrose leaves needed to reach 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
The two trenches next to the pit were formed when two Neanderthals dug into the pit to grab the leaves before they cooled down.
Next, the rockrose leaves were squeezed to extract the tar, and the glue was used to make weapons and tools. For example, they used the tar to attach flint arrowheads to spears.
Some experts argue that the findings do not definitively prove Neanderthals utilized the pits for tar production. The material could have been used as a medicine, perfume, or waterproofing agent.
The details of the study were published in Quaternary Science Reviews.
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