The traditional Neanderthal stereotype might be that of a club-wielding caveman, but they actually had some pretty sophisticated technology. Our archaic cousins fashioned all manner of delicate instruments out of flakes of flint and other stone, including scrapers, axes, knives—even dentist drills. Of course, that’s not the extent of the Neanderthal toolkit, only what survived to be scrutinized by us tens of thousands of years later. Most Neanderthal wooden tools have unfortunately been lost to the ravages of time—with a few exceptions.
Abric Romaní, a cliffside settlement in Spain occupied by Neanderthals around 70,000 to 39,000 years ago, contains evidence of wooden objects preserved by travertine incrustation. During this process, calcium carbonate builds up around the wood, which decays, leaving an impression so detailed it’s possible to make out individual plant cells. A new study of this rare assemblage published in Science Advances offers insight into the lives of our distant relatives.
Read more: “How Neanderthals Mastered Dentistry”
Researchers from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution peeled back 16 archeological levels documenting roughly 20,000 years of Neanderthal occupation (from around 62,000 to 40,000 years ago). They meticulously documented the impressions left by almost 600 wooden objects buried there during that time.
“Though relatively small, this collection of artifacts is notable for the varied morphology and functionality of the items that comprise it, demonstrating a remarkable technological versatility and the diversified exploitation of wood as a raw material,” the researchers wrote.
The team found domestic objects such as a series of trays made from bark, some with concave depressions like plates. They also discovered a cache of Scots pine firewood piled against a rear wall (Neanderthals seem to like to keep a tidy living area, too). A tripod structure consisting of three wooden poles could have been a frame for a windbreak to protect an entrance from the elements, according to the team. They found a series of pointed sticks as well, some of which seemed to be spears while others may have functioned as digging implements used to find tubers and other underground food sources.
Their most remarkable find was a wooden club, which the team called “the most exceptional wooden object identified in the assemblage to date.” Around a foot long, the tool showed signs of deliberate scraping and shaping. It had a distinct handle with a slightly flared base to prevent it from slipping out of the hand. The business end extended 90 degrees from the handle and curved slightly, leading the researchers to surmise it was used for striking (although they couldn’t rule out other uses, like digging).
What, exactly, these Neanderthals were striking remains a mystery but the researchers noted that similar clubs are used by hunter-gatherer tribes for “interpersonal violence, hunting, and fishing.” So it might be true that Neanderthals were club-wielding cavemen after all, but they were also talented woodworkers. 
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Lead Image: Hugo Prades / IPHES-CERCA
