Туркийн нутаг дахь Учагзлы II агуйн малтлага нь неандертал болон орчин үеийн хүн (Homo sapiens) эрт цагт ижил төстэй зан үйл, технологи ашигладаг байсныг харуулж байна.
“Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” сэтгүүлд нийтлэгдсэн судалгаагаар тус агуйд неандерталчууд 77,000–59,000 жилийн өмнө, харин орчин үеийн хүмүүс 59,000–47,000 жилийн өмнө амьдарч байсныг тогтоожээ. Археологичид малтлагаар 19,252 чулуун зэвсэг, 24,236 амьтны үлдэгдэл илрүүлсэн бөгөөд эдгээр олдворын тархалт нь хоёр бүлэг хүн агнуур, түүвэрлэлт болон багаж хэрэгсэл хийхдээ бараг ижил төстэй стратеги баримталж байсныг гэрчилж байна. Газиантепийн их сургуулийн профессор Исмаил Байкарагийн тэмдэглэснээр, энэхүү соёлын залгамж холбоо нь судлаачдын хувьд гэнэтийн нээлт болжээ.
Агуйгаас олдсон 59 хясааны үлдэгдэл, тэр дундаа 29 ширхэг “Columbella rustica” хясаа нь хоёр бүлэг хүн зөвхөн амин зуулга төдийгүй бэлгэдэл зүйн шинжтэй зан үйлийг ч мөн адил эзэмшсэнийг илтгэж байна. Эдгээр хясааг хүнсэнд ашиглах боломжгүй тул гоёл чимэглэл эсвэл бэлгэдлийн зориулалтаар хэрэглэж байсан гэж үзэж байгаа юм.
Левантын бүс нутагт орших энэхүү агуйн олдворууд нь неандертал болон орчин үеийн хүмүүс зөвхөн генетикийн хувьд бус, соёлын хувьд ч харилцан солилцоо хийж байсныг баталж байна. Цаашид эдгээр хоёр бүлгийн тархины бүтэц, үйл ажиллагаа болон танин мэдэхүйн чадавхын ялгааг илүү нарийвчлан судлах шаардлагатай байгааг эрдэмтэд онцолж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
A cave in Türkiye is offering a surprising glimpse into how Neanderthals and Homo sapiens may have shared similar traditions thousands of years ago. New research from Üçağızlı II Cave reveals that modern humans continued many practices already used by Neanderthals, including toolmaking and the use of shells as ornaments.
Scientists have long known that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens met in Palaeolithic Eurasia and exchanged genes. But archaeologists are still trying to understand how much they shared in their daily lives, their technologies and their symbolic practices.
Several archaeological sites have shown different patterns. At Mandrin Cave in France, researchers found clear differences between Neanderthal and modern human layers. At Tinshemet Cave in Israel, evidence pointed to similarities in technologies and possible funerary traditions.
At Üçağızlı II Cave, researchers discovered remains from both species, allowing them to track how the site was used over time. The study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences identified Neanderthal occupation between 77,000 and 59,000 years ago, followed by Homo sapiens occupation from around 59,000 to 47,000 years ago.
An Ancient Survival Strategy That Lasted
The cave preserved a large collection of archaeological material. Researchers found 19,252 stone tools and 24,236 animal remains, providing information about how the inhabitants hunted, collected resources and produced equipment.
As explained in the study, Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers noticed that the tools and animal remains were distributed in similar ways across the different layers. This indicates that Homo sapiens used hunting, gathering and toolmaking strategies that were very close to those of the Neanderthals who lived there before them. The continuity was not something the researchers expected.
“Such a finding was indeed very surprising, simply because we did not expect this level of continuity [between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens],” study author Professor İsmail Baykara from Gaziantep University told to IFLScience.
The discovery does not mean that the two groups had identical lifestyles, but it shows that some everyday practices remained stable even after a different human species arrived at the cave.
Shells Reveal A Shared Symbolic Practice
The most intriguing evidence came from small marine shells found throughout the occupation layers. Archaeologists uncovered 59 mollusk shells, including 29 shells from Columbella rustica. These shells were unlikely to have been collected for food. Instead, researchers believe they were used as ornaments or objects with symbolic meaning.
Finding the same type of shell in both Neanderthal and Homo sapiens layers suggests that modern humans may have continued a tradition already present at the site. The researchers describe this as evidence of shared behaviors that went beyond basic survival.
The findings show “shared behaviors between Neanderthals and modern humans that extended beyond subsistence to include nonutilitarian behaviors,” the study authors wrote.
A Meeting Place Between Neanderthals And Humans?
The cave’s location in the Levant is also significant. This region is considered one of the places where Neanderthals and Homo sapiens likely encountered each other during prehistory. Scientists already know that the two groups exchanged genes through ancient interbreeding. Findings from the location now reveal that their interactions may have also included the exchange of cultural practices.
“We hypothesize that they exchanged culture,” Baykara said, , indicating that interactions between the two populations may have shaped their behaviors over time.
The researchers note that many questions about the cognitive abilities of Neanderthals and modern humans remain unanswered. Further studies on brain structure and function will be needed to better understand where the two groups differed and where they were alike.
“Future studies will be necessary to determine how cognitive capacities – which are fundamentally a matter of brain structure and function – differed or aligned between Neanderthals and modern humans,” he added.
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