A rare and exquisitely beautiful rock crystal tool made by Neanderthals, between 200,000 - 40,000 years ago.
Measurements: 6 x 3.3 x 1.5 cm.
From the Lower Mousterian level at the Merveilles rockshelter, Sergeac, Dordogne, France. Musée d’Archéologie Nationale, Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Photo my own.
https://nitter.1d4.us/AlisonFisk/status/1746128885685551166#m
another photo, the clarity of the crystal is unfortunately a bit less obvious in this one though
another set of photos
Imagine you are a homo sapiens with the newest model of a composite stone tool you just invented, and the neighborhood neanderthal walks in with this
the neanderthal who carried that had a cooler knife than me
I didn't know they were still around up to ~40,000 years ago. I thought they disappeared 100,000+ years ago.
In research published in Nature in 2014, an analysis of radiocarbon dates from forty Neanderthal sites from Spain to Russia found that the Neanderthals disappeared in Europe between 41,000 and 39,000 years ago with 95% probability.
