Neanderthals Crafted Precision Tools From Rhinoceros Bone 200,000 Year

A new analysis of 6,496 faunal remains from the Abri Suard rock shelter in western France has identified 62 bone retouchers and 3 soft hammers dating to approximately 160,000–200,000 years ago. Among them: tools made from rhinoceros bone and what may be the earliest known retoucher fashioned from a horse molar. The findings demonstrate that Neanderthals possessed sophisticated material knowledge and planning depth far earlier than previously recognized.

What the Tools Were Used For

The 62 bone retouchers served a specific purpose: refining and sharpening the edges of stone tools. After knapping a flint flake, a bone retoucher allowed precise corrections along the edge with far greater control than stone-on-stone techniques.

The 3 soft hammers, made of bone, were used to strike flint cores. Bone transmits force more gradually than stone, allowing the toolmaker to detach thinner, more predictable flakes. This required understanding the elastic properties of bone versus stone, a fundamentally different material science.

Butchery and Toolmaking Were One Process

The Abri Suard assemblage reveals that animals were first hunted and butchered for food, marrow was extracted from long bones, and then the bones were repurposed as tools. This was not opportunistic scavenging. It was a planned, multi-step operational sequence requiring what cognitive scientists call planning depth: the ability to look at a bone during butchery and recognize its future utility.

The Growing Evidence for Neanderthal Intelligence

This discovery joins a rapidly expanding body of evidence overturning the image of Neanderthals as cognitively inferior:

Cave art at La Pasiega, Maltravieso, and Ardales in Spain dated to over 64,000 years ago
Perforated seashell beads from Cueva de los Aviones dated to 115,000 years ago
Circular stalagmite structures deep inside Bruniquel Cave, France, 176,000 years ago
Three-ply cord from conifer inner-bark fibers at Abri du Maras

As researcher João Zilhão stated: "Neanderthals and modern humans shared symbolic thinking and must have been cognitively indistinguishable."