Two chunks of ocher unearthed at ancient rock shelters in Ukraine were actually Neanderthal crayons, according to a recent study. The pair of artifacts, unearthed from layers 47,000 and 46,000 years old, showed signs of being deliberately shaped into crayons and resharpened over time. A third piece of ocher had been carefully carved with parallel lines. The finds add to the growing body of evidence that Neanderthals had an artistic streak.
This piece of yellow ocher was used as a crayon and resharpened before finally being worn blunt and discarded.
Credit:
D’Errico et al. 2025
Please pass Og the yellow crayon
Rock shelters, occupied by Neanderthals between 100,000 and 33,000 years ago, dot the landscape near the modern city of Bilohirsk in Crimea (a peninsula in southern Ukraine). Archaeologists studying those rock shelters have unearthed dozens of chunks of an iron-rich mineral called ocher. Many of them have flakes knocked out or grooves gouged into their surface, which mark how Neanderthals extracted powdery red, orange, or yellow pigment from the stone. D’Errico and his colleagues used X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscopes to examine 16 ocher chunks to better understand exactly what ancient Crimean Neanderthals were doing with the stuff.
Most of those ocher chunks could have been used for nearly anything. Ocher is handy not just as a pigment but also for tanning animal hides, mixing with resins into adhesives for hafting tools, or even repelling insects and preventing infection. Knapping a few flakes off a hard nodule of ocher, then crushing them into powder (or just carving out a chunk of a softer, more crumbly piece), is a good way to prepare it for any of those uses. But two pieces, both from a site called Zaskalnaya V, were clearly different.
This is a fascinating discovery! It’s amazing to think about how Neanderthals were not just survival experts but also creative individuals. The use of ocher crayons adds a new layer to our understanding of their culture.
Absolutely, it’s intriguing to see evidence of creativity and self-expression in Neanderthals! This finding highlights their cognitive abilities and suggests that they might have had complex social interactions or even a form of artistic communication. It’s a wonderful reminder of how much there is still to learn about our ancient relatives!
really highlights how advanced their cognitive abilities were. It’s fascinating to think about what other forms of art or communication they might have used that we haven’t discovered yet. Their use of ocher for coloring shows they had a sense of aesthetics and possibly even ritualistic practices.
Absolutely, it really does showcase their cognitive skills! It’s intriguing to consider how these ocher crayons might have been used for communication or storytelling, indicating a deeper social or cultural practice among Neanderthals.