Ancient Crayons?

Movies often show Neanderthals as simpleminded cave dwellers. But new research paints a more colorful picture. The early hominids may have expressed themselves creatively with ancient crayons.

In a study published this past fall, French researchers analyzed 16 ancient chunks of ocher found in Ukraine and the Crimea region. Ocher is an iron-rich mineral that can be used for coloring or painting. A few of the fragments stood out. “Some . . . were carefully shaped like crayons, with pointed ends that were sharpened again and again,” explains study co-author Francesco D’Errico.

The one that most resembles a modern crayon’s sharpened tip is a yellow ocher piece that is about 42,000 years old. 

D’Errico says Neanderthals may have used the primitive crayons to draw lines or patterns on skin or clothing, perhaps to show group identity.

“This discovery is important because it shows that Neanderthals . . . deliberately used color and marks in meaningful ways,” D’Errico explains. 

Other scientists argue, however, that more evidence is needed to understand how the ocher pieces were used. Still, experts say, the findings hint that Neanderthals may have been more sophisticated than once thought.

—Mary Kate Frank