Were Neanderthals really artists?

Can the Neanderthal engravings just discovered in a cave in Gibraltar really rank alongside Rothko and Pollock?

The discovery of "art" carved by Neanderthals close, extinct relatives of our own species Homo sapiens in a cave on Gibraltar is being hailed as proof that these long-derided early human were just as smart as we are. But were Neanderthals really artists?

The engraved lines found on Gibraltar are said to be 40,000 years old, making them older than the the oldest-known cave paintings by Homo sapiens,which can be seen in the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave in southern France. It certainly seems that the capacity for symbolic thought is not unique to Homo sapiens, but do the incised lines of Gibraltar really prove a capacity for advanced thought? Can we call them "art" at all? I am not convinced.

Continue reading...