A groundbreaking new study of the world's oldest wooden spears has revealed two previously unknown capabilities of the Neanderthals—upending long-standing assumptions about our ancient cousins.
According to Interesting Engineering, the spears were first discovered decades ago at the archaeological site of Schöningen in Germany. Until recently, scientists believed these weapons had been crafted by Homo heidelbergensis, a human ancestor that lived around 400,000 years ago and is thought to be the last common ancestor of both modern humans and Neanderthals.
However, new analysis has shown that the spears are actually around 200,000 years old—firmly placing them in the Neanderthal era. In the same area, researchers also uncovered the remains of an ancient lake surrounded by wild horse bones, indicating that the animals had been hunted.
The discovery challenges previous beliefs about Neanderthals on three key fronts. First, it represents the oldest archaeological evidence providing insight into Neanderthal life. Until now, most finds associated with them dated between 60,000 and 40,000 years ago—just before they disappeared.
Second, it reveals two critical abilities previously unattributed to Neanderthals. The first is their craftsmanship: they were capable of creating sophisticated weapons. This skill had long been thought unique to Homo sapiens, and one of the reasons for our species' eventual dominance.
The Spear
The second surprising ability is communication. Neanderthals have often been portrayed as antisocial, even among members of their own groups. Traditional theories suggested they hunted by identifying a large, weak animal, then surrounding it and attacking from all sides—favoring the physically strongest individuals in the group.
But the new findings tell a different story. According to Interesting Engineering, Neanderthals likely used complex communication, especially during hunts. Moreover, they didn’t just target isolated prey—they hunted entire herds.
One example comes from the lake at Schöningen, which appears to have served as a natural trap. Neanderthals would drive herds—wild horses in this case—into the lake’s dead end. There, they could be safely surrounded and picked off gradually, minimizing physical risk. At the time, even a minor injury could prove fatal.
“To achieve this level of success, hunting expeditions must have been entirely cooperative and based on coordinated group effort with effective communication,” the researchers noted in their study. “Until now, Neanderthals were not considered capable of this degree of social coordination—but our findings suggest the exact opposite.”
This discovery not only reshapes our understanding of Neanderthal intelligence but also narrows the gap between them and modern humans—reminding us that evolution’s story is rarely as linear or simple as it once seemed.
