A group of nine investigators – within them of the Spanish Scientific Police – has presented on Monday “the human fingerprint”, which the authors attribute to the finger of a neandertal adult man who lived about 43,000 years ago in what is now Segovia. The footprint is embodied in a lonely red point discovered in a shot. The nine signatories speculate that this individual chose the stone because it looked like a human face, with two eyes and a mouth, so completed it with a circular nose made with ocher pigment. “This song could represent one of the abstractions of an older human face,” they say in their study. Other experts consulted are skeptical.
The largest science agency in Spain, the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), has proclaimed that “this finding represents the most complete and ancient evidence of a human fingerprint in the world, unequivocally attributed to the Neanderthals, highlighting the deliberate use of the pigment for symbolic purposes, which makes this piece unique and exceptional”. A reputed specialist, who prefers not to give his name, emphasizes that “a single point cannot be sustained as symbolic evidence, you need a recurring pattern to affirm it.” In his opinion, that symbolic value is “unlikely or almost unlikely”, so the study has been rejected in several scientific journals before being accepted in.
The rolled song was discovered in July 2022, during the excavation of the archaeological site of the shelter of San Lázaro, a rocky hollow on the shore of the Eresma river, in Segovia. The authors argue that, according to the dating of the site, that stone had to be “intentionally manipulated by the last Neanderthals of the Iberian Peninsula, shortly before its definitive disappearance.” Among the signatories are the prehistorian, of the Complutense University of Madrid, and the Geologist Andrés Díez, of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME-CSIC).
Seven years ago, a new dating of some jackets Homo sapiensthey arrived at the Iberian Peninsula, so artists could only be Neanderthals. The drawings were a developed negative hand at least 66,700 years ago in the Cueva de Maltravieso (Cáceres), a mineral deposit covered with paint on a wall of the Ardales cave (Málaga) and a linear sign, similar to a staircase, outlined at least 64,800 years in the cave of the Pasiega (Cantabria).
The geologist believes that “more important than the footprint, which is, is that it was put in an object, not to use it as a firing or anvil, but to create the first artistic manifestation of humanity” of mobile art, made of portable objects, not on a rocky wall. The authors recognize that “it is not the first Neanderthal fingerprint identified”, since in 1963 one was found in resin at the German Königsaue site, with an antiquity of between 43,000 and 80,000 years. The Magdeburg Police analyzed the footprint and concluded that he made the edge of the thumb of his hand.
director of the Museum of Prehistory and Archeology of Cantabria, applauds the “considerable technological deployment” of the new study. “The problem is, in my view, that this solid empirical base does not correspond to a reading of the equally rigorous data but, rather a combination of apriorisms, analogies of greater or lesser validity and interpretive excesses, in its eagerness to ratify what, in effect, it is a very plausible hypothesis but, in my way of seeing, not sufficiently validated to be considered a firm evidence and patrimonial that is attributed to him, ”he says.
Ontañón is especially skeptical with the identification of an alleged human face in the morphology of the Guijarro, which the authors hypothesize based on, the psychological phenomenon that makes faces perceive in anything, like two mandarins and a banana. “It should then be asked if that phenomenon can be attributed to the assumption artist or rather the observer. Other similar cases have passed to the bibliography and, for the most part, have been welcomed with skepticism, “he reflects.” The finding in itself, excellently analyzed in their materiality, is unquestionable interest. The problem appears when you want to cover a character of only (The oldest, the most unique) and the argument is forced in support of a purpose that moves away from strictly scientific, ”he adds.
For the finding of the footprint, the work of, a prestigious expert in the Forensic Image of the Spanish Scientific Police, who uses cameras modified by himself to photograph things that they do not see themselves has been fundamental. Three experts in fingerprints have also participated and the anthropologist Elena Ruiz Mediavilla, specialized in bones. Four of the authors presented on Monday their results in in Segovia with the mayor of the city, José Mazarías, and the Minister of Culture, Gonzalo Santonja. “This finding is not only a milestone in European prehistoric research, but also an invaluable opportunity to promote the archaeological heritage of Castilla y León,” said the Junta de Castilla y León in a statement.
The archaeologist, from the Autonomous University of Madrid, also congratulates the team for bringing the footprint to light, but disagrees with its conclusions. “The finding is located in a complex chronological range, in which there could be coexistence between different human species. A sedimentary DNA analysis could have confirmed the neanderthal presence at the level where this interesting discovery has occurred,” he says. “In the field of archeology, we tend to establish a direct relationship between certain industrial expressions (in this case, Musteriense) and human species (in the study, Neanderthals), despite not always having conclusive evidence that supports it,” he adds.
Baena believes that it is undoubtedly “a singular finding”, analyzed by “a very careful methodology”, but maintains its skepticism. “Assuming the neanderthal authorship of the industry, it is surprising to verify how the symbolic expressiveness of these groups in the West remains so elusive and difficult to interpret. It is common to find [pigmento] Ocher at levels associated with the Musteriense, but there are multiple explanations – even strictly functional – to justify his presence, “he emphasizes.” The finding is surprising and very interesting, and the authors have developed professional work. However, the interpretation moves in a complex and difficult field to sustain without conclusive evidence, ”he says.
