70,000 years ago, Neanderthals living in Ukraine’s Crimea region deliberately shaped ochre into crayon-like tools for making marks and designs, according to new research that challenges longstanding assumptions about the species’ cognitive capabilities.
The findings, published in Science Advances, provide compelling evidence that these ancient hominins engaged in symbolic behaviors once thought unique to early modern humans.
An international team led by Francesco d’Errico from the University of Bordeaux analyzed 16 ochre fragments from Middle Paleolithic Micoquian sites in Crimea and mainland Ukraine, spanning approximately 100,000 to 33,000 years ago.
Neanderthals across the Crimean Peninsula practiced the Crimean Micoquian stone tool-making tradition for at least 80,000 years.
Using portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and detailed technological analysis, the researchers identified deliberate modifications, including grinding, scoring, flaking, and scraping on these iron-rich mineral fragments.
According to the study, three specimens stand out as particularly significant. Perhaps the most unique is a yellow ochre piece that had been carefully shaped into a pointed, crayon-like tool through scraping and grinding. Microscopic examination revealed that its tip was repeatedly resharpened through a technique called “burin-like removal,” where small flakes were knocked off. Then the surface was reground to maintain functionality. This maintenance pattern indicates the tool was shaped and re-shaped and valued over time, and not simply a byproduct of powder extraction.
A second fragment features deliberately engraved curved lines on one surface, created by moving a tool consistently in the same direction. The lines show characteristics suggesting they were made by a right-handed individual, and the prominent areas between incisions are highly smoothed, indicating the object was handled and curated after modification. A third specimen appears to be a fragment of another shaped crayon, bearing traces of scraping, grinding, and a deep groove likely created to extract coloring powder after the original tool broke.
The researchers emphasize that these shaped points differ fundamentally from ochre pieces that naturally develop pointed edges through grinding to produce powder. Experimental studies have shown that grinding ochre against a stone can create incidental points, but these lack the deliberate shaping, repeated maintenance, and distinct wear patterns seen on the Crimean specimens.
“The shaping of ochre fragments into crayon-like tools through scraping and grinding, along with wear and maintenance traces from knapping and regrinding to keep them pointed, suggests that these implements were used to create red and yellow marks or designs on various surfaces, including skin, clothing, bags, or stone,” the study authors write, explaining that ochre was typically smeared onto surfaces. These crayons indicate something more precise.
“The deliberate shaping and resharpening of ochre crayons indicate that their tips were specifically used to produce linear marks,”
The significance of these findings extends beyond the objects themselves to what they reveal about Neanderthal cognition and culture. The deliberate shaping of ochre crayons suggests Neanderthals used them to produce linear marks on various surfaces like skin, clothing, tools, or stone. Creating such marks requires planning, fine motor control, and likely served communicative or aesthetic purposes that transcended purely practical applications.
Chemical analysis revealed that Neanderthals collected ochre from sources approximately 1.5 kilometers from the cave sites, with care in selecting materials based on their needs. Moreover, they employed different processing techniques depending on whether the ochre was soft or hard: softer materials were scraped and ground, while harder specimens were flaked and then pounded into powder.
The study also revealed that ochre use persisted in this region across tens of thousands of years, from approximately 100,000 years ago through to about 33,000 years ago. While the archaeological record can’t confirm continuous use throughout this entire period, the repeated presence of modified ochre across multiple stratigraphic layers at different sites suggests enduring cultural significance within the Crimean Micoquian tradition.
These discoveries carry important implications for how researchers interpret the emergence of symbolic behavior in human evolution. For decades, symbolic expression was considered a hallmark of modern Homo sapiens, with Neanderthals relegated to the role of cognitively simpler cousins. However, mounting evidence from sites across Europe paints a different picture.
The Crimean findings parallel contemporary Middle Stone Age evidence from southern Africa, where early Homo sapiens at sites like Blombos Cave similarly processed ochres with grinding and scraping, engraved them with abstract designs, and shaped them into crayons for marking stone surfaces. Both populations also developed sophisticated bifacial tool technologies, suggesting convergent cognitive capabilities despite geographic and genetic separation.
The Crimean evidence fits within a broader pattern of Neanderthal ochre use documented across Europe, though not all populations engaged with these materials to the same extent. Some groups favored black manganese-rich rocks, while others like the Crimean Micoquians preferred red and yellow ochres. This regional variation suggests different cultural trajectories and potentially community-level traditions passed across generations.
Understanding Neanderthal symbolic behavior remains challenging because the ultimate purposes of ochre marks, whether applied to skin, objects, or surfaces, rarely survive in the archaeological record. However, the Crimean crayons and engraved pieces provide tangible evidence that at least some Neanderthal groups actively engaged in marking activities that served communicative, aesthetic, or ritual functions. Combined with other evidence like engraved bones and decorated shells from the same region, these findings underscore that Neanderthals possessed cognitive complexity previously underestimated by researchers.
MJ Banias covers space, security, and technology with The Debrief. You can email him at mj@thedebrief.org or follow him on Twitter @mjbanias.