Posted on 05/19/2020 9:42:27 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Neanderthals selected rib bones from specific animals to make the lissoirs (French for 'smoothers'), which are bone tools that have been intentionally shaped and used on animal hides to make them softer and more water resistant, according to new research led by paleoanthropologists from the University of California, Davis.
Scientists know that some Neanderthals produced bone tools. These include the discovery of five nearly identical fragments of lissoirs from two Paleolithic sites in southwest France: Pech-de-l'Azé I (Pech I) and Abri Peyrony.
These specialized tools are often worn so smooth that it's impossible to tell which animal they came from just by looking at them.
Naomi Martisius from the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Davis and colleagues used a technique called Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) to look at residues of collagen protein from Pech I and Abri Peyrony lissoirs.
The ZooMS method breaks up samples into fragments that can be identified by their mass to charge ratio and used to reconstruct the original molecule.
(Excerpt) Read more at sci-news.com ...
They must have had a primitive version of tanneries.
There would have to be a secure space where the bones and a hides could dry out, without any hungry animals trying to eat or chew them. The aroma of new blood and freshly torn flesh would advertise the location of that secure space.
Maybe there was a form of Cave Man sentry posted. Someone standing by with a pile of rocks to throw at any approaching beast.
“I think this shows that Neanderthals really knew what they were doing”
Undoubtedly.
Nobody could push a bone across skin like good old Og.
Any encroaching critter would just go onto the menu, or become a nice fur coat. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that they invented leatherworking, and all subsequent leatherworking has just been passed down.
Did they go and get the leather at Tandy Leather? Leathermaking, so simple even a caveman can do it...
There would have to be a secure space
There’s a name for any hungry animals trying to take a Neanderthal’s kill from their caves:
Dinner.
Even cave bears, cave lions and cave hyenas beat tracks when the Neanderthals claimed a cave.
:^) It's got a good beat and you can smash in the head of a mammoth to it.
Alas, poor Auroch...
"...and when as he left the cave, his father said, 'bison'."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
