Neanderthals purposefully collected and positioned horned and antlered animal skulls in a cave in what is now Spain, suggesting that these extinct human relatives had complex cultural practices over 43,000 years ago, a new study finds.
Des-Cubierta cave in central Iberia was initially discovered in 2009. In 2023, researchers announced the unusual discovery of an assortment of 35 large mammal skulls inside the cave. Most jaw bones were missing, but all skulls came from horned or antlered species like steppe bison and aurochs. Over 1,400 stone tools were uncovered in the same level, all in the Mousterian style typical of Neanderthals.
