Neanderthals, modern humans shared cultural traditions in Türkiye
New archaeological research in the southern province of Hatay revealed that Neanderthals and early modern humans shared a range of cultural traditions nearly 59,000 years ago, offering fresh evidence of interaction between the two human species.
The findings come from excavations at Üçağızlı II Cave in the Samandağ district, where researchers uncovered more than 19,000 stone tools, animal remains and marine shells believed to have been used as personal ornaments.
The international research team, led by Professor İsmail Baykara of Gaziantep University’s Department of Archaeology, concluded that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens living in or using the cave followed similar hunting strategies, produced comparable stone tools and collected the same species of marine shells, Columbella rustica, for symbolic purposes.
According to the researchers, the discoveries indicate that the two human groups were connected not only through possible biological contact but also through the exchange of knowledge and shared cultural practices.
