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A toe bone hints that Neandertals used eagle talons as jewelry

An ancient eagle's toe bone featuring stone tool incisions adds to evidence that Neandertals made pendants or other ornaments out of birds' talons, researchers conclude in the Nov. 1 Science Advances.

Excavations in Foradada Cave, near northeastern Spain's Mediterranean coast, have produced a roughly 39,000-year-old imperial eagle toe fossil. Stone tool marks on the bone were likely made when someone removed a talon from the bird's foot, say archaeologist Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo of Madrid's Institute of Human Evolution in Africa and colleagues. Neandertals have been linked to the style of stone artifacts found in the cave, the scientists add.

Only 12 bones from imperial eagles and other birds of prey, including seven toe bones and a talon, were found in the cave. No signs of burned sediment or cooking areas turned up, suggesting that these creatures were sought for talons and not as food, the scientists say.

This discovery joins similar finds of avian toe bones and claws at 10 southern European sites dating to between 130,000 and 42,000 years ago that have been attributed to Neandertals (SN: 3/20/15).

Citations: A. Rodríguez-Hidalgo et al. The Chȃtelperronian Neanderthals of Cova Foradada (Calafell, Spain) used imperial eagle phalanges for symbolic purposes. Science Advances. Vol. 5, November 1, 2019. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aax1984.

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