尼安德特人制作的最后一条项链可能是什么在西班牙的一个洞穴中被发现，研究人员发现了大约39，000年前用作个人装饰品的鹰爪。
鹰爪是在伊比利亚半岛的福拉达洞穴中发现的。这是一个考古遗址，被认为是在旧石器时代中期由chtelperronian文化的尼安德特人占据的——这个时期从大约200，000年前开始，到大约40，000到35，000年前结束，大约在尼安德特人灭绝的时候。
尼安德特人用鹰爪制作珠宝的证据并不是新发现。鹰爪以前曾在几个不同的洞穴遗址被发现，与古代亲属有关。然而，这些地区往往位于南欧相当集中的地区，包括克罗地亚、意大利和法国。其中大多数可以追溯到大约13万到5万年前。
在这些案例中，考古学家分析了加工鹰爪时留下的切割痕迹，以表明它们是有意从鹰身上取下用于装饰的。研究者认为，这表明尼安德特人有“象征性行为”的能力
以前，人们认为象征性行为是我们与尼安德特人不同的地方，但是这幅画正在改变。现在有证据表明他们埋葬他们的死者偶尔标记坟墓。2016年的一项研究甚至有人建议居住在克罗地亚13万年的尼安德特人收集一块石头纯粹是为了美观。
福拉达的最新发现为尼安德特人具有象征性行为的想法增加了更多证据，表明使用鹰爪作为装饰并不局限于南欧的一个地区。这些发现发表在科学进步。
研究人员在秃鹫爪子上进行屠宰实验，以找出切割痕迹是如何形成的。调查结果显示尼安德特人移除爪子是为了装饰目的，而不是为了消费。
非洲进化研究所的主要作者安东尼奥·罗德里格斯·伊达尔戈说新闻周刊这一发现拓宽了行为的空间范围，潜在地表明这是尼安德特人的一种现象，而不是局限于特定的区域。
罗德里格斯·伊达尔戈在一份声明中说，在39，000年前，这也是这种行为的最新例证，可能代表“尼安德特人制造的最后一条项链”。
团队发现的爪子来自一只大鹰的左腿。对其标记的分析表明，这只鸟不太可能被宰杀食用。取而代之的是，切割标记表明它们被制成吊坠。作者还指出，鹰爪几乎没有营养价值，进一步强调了象征性使用的概念。
西班牙洞穴中发现的鹰爪。研究人员现在希望检查在尼安德特人遗址发现的其他爪子。
罗德里格斯·伊达尔戈告诉记者新闻周刊鹰爪可能代表一种“非语言信息”,它可能像其他文化和技术传播一样传播——通过代代相传，潜在地具有某种进化优势。他说，这可能开始于尼安德特人“打扮自己”的装饰
他说他们的工作有许多限制——例如，一些研究人员认为福拉达洞穴被现代人而不是尼安德特人占据。他补充说，该小组现在希望调查尼安德特人使用鹰爪的其他案例。
在讨论鹰的可能意义时，他说:“对大多数人类社会来说，鹰代表着积极的概念——勇气、力量、精神——但是我们不可能知道鹰爪的象征意义是什么，因为我们没有玫瑰花石来翻译它们的意义。”
THE 'LAST NECKLACE MADE BY THE NEANDERTHALS' DISCOVERED IN SPANISH CAVE
What could be the last necklace made by Neanderthals has been discovered in a cave in Spain, with researchers unearthing eagle talons that had been used as a personal ornament some 39,000 years ago.
The talons were found in the Foradada cave in the Iberian Peninsula. This is an archaeological site that was thought to have been occupied by Neanderthals of the Châtelperronian culture in the Middle Paleolithic—a period that very broadly starts about 200,000 years ago and ends between 40,000 and 35,000 years ago, around the time the Neanderthals went extinct.
Evidence of Neanderthals making jewelry from eagle talons is not a new discovery. Talons have previously been found at several different cave sites associated with ancient relatives. However, these tend to be within a fairly concentrated area of southern Europe, including Croatia, Italy and France. Most of these date to between about 130,000 years and 50,000 years.
In these cases, archaeologists analyzed the cut marks that had been made when processing the talons to show they had been purposefully removed from the eagle for ornamental use. This, researchers have suggested, shows Neanderthals were capable of "symbolic behavior."
Previously, it was thought symbolic behavior was what set us apart from Neanderthals, but this picture is changing. There is now evidence to suggest they buried their dead and occasionally marked the graves. A 2016 study even suggested a Neanderthal that lived in Croatia 130,000 years collected a rock purely for its aesthetics.
The latest discovery at Foradada adds more evidence to the idea Neanderthals were capable of symbolic behavior, showing that using eagle talons for ornamental purposes was not confined to one region of southern Europe. The findings are published in Science Advances.
Researchers performed butchering experiments on vulture talons to work out how the cut marks had been made. Findings show the Neanderthals had removed the talons for ornamental purposes, rather than consumption.
Lead author Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo, from the Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), told Newsweek the discovery broadens the spatial range of the behavior, potentially showing it is a phenomenon among Neanderthals, rather than being confined to a specific region.
At 39,000 years, it is also the most recent example of the behavior, and potentially represents "the last necklace made by the Neanderthals," Rodríguez-Hidalgo said in a statement.
The talon the team found came from the left leg of a large eagle. Analysis of its markings suggest the bird is unlikely to have been butchered for consumption. Instead, the cut marks indicate they were made into pendants. The authors also point out that the talons provide little nutritional value, giving further weight to the idea of symbolic use.
The eagle talon found in the cave in Spain. Researchers now hope to examine other talons found at Neanderthal sites.
Rodríguez-Hidalgo told Newsweek the eagle talons may represent a "nonverbal message" and that it may have spread like other cultural and technological transmissions—by being passed down from generation to generation, potentially with some evolutionary advantage. It may have started, he said, just as an ornament for Neanderthals to "doll themselves up."
He said there are a number of limitations to their work—some researchers believe the Foradada cave was occupied by modern humans rather than Neanderthals, for example. He added the team now hopes to examine other cases of eagle talons being used by Neanderthals.
Discussing the possible significance of eagles, he said: "For most human societies, eagles represent positive concepts—courage, power, spirits—but it is impossible to know which was the symbolic meaning of the talons because we don't have a rosette stone that allows us to translate their meaning."
