Researchers analyzing nearly 600 wooden remains from the Abric Romaní rock shelter in Spain reveal that Neanderthal technology relied heavily on wood alongside stone tools. The findings, published in Science Advances, include preserved spears, bark trays, and a mysterious club-like artifact dating between 62,000 and 40,000 years ago.
For decades, the archaeological record offered a heavily skewed view of prehistoric life because stone endures while organic materials rot away. That long-standing assumption has now shifted following a comprehensive study of wooden objects and imprints recovered from Abric Romaní, a site situated on a travertine cliff near Barcelona. Led by researchers from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution, the analysis highlights an extensive repertoire of woodworking skills that ran parallel to traditional Paleolithic stone tools.
How Natural Molds Preserved 40,000-Year-Old Timber Imprints
Wood typically decays quickly, leaving virtually no trace in the soil. At Abric Romaní, however, unique geological conditions intervened. Periodic slow flooding covered discarded materials, and calcium carbonate from the surrounding travertine rock hardened around the decaying wood much like a fossil. Mineral-rich water coated the buried timber before it vanished entirely, leaving hollow negative molds and timber imprints that preserved fine details down to the cellular level. In 1995, researchers noticed these cavities and filled them with resin to create casts of the objects.
Over decades of digging across 19 sandy layers, researchers cataloged 597 wooden remains and imprints dating from roughly 62,000 to 40,000 years ago. Analyses using uranium-thorium dating established that human occupation occurred during this period, whereas deeper, unexcavated layers suggest individuals inhabited the location as far back as 110,000 years ago. While the vast majority of the 597 wooden remains consisted of untreated trunks, branches, twigs, roots, and firewood accumulations, the team identified 13 objects bearing clear signs of intentional manufacture and human modification.
Wooden Spears Show Skilled Material Culture
The catalog of manufactured items points to a versatile material culture spanning hunting gear, domestic items, and structural elements. Among the most striking finds are two wooden spears. One of the spears measured roughly 8 feet in length, whereas another specimen retained the mold of a pointed artifact spanning nearly 6.5 feet. Archaeologists note that producing such items required careful selection of raw materials, planning, and skilled shaping.
“Producing long, straight shafts and shaping them deliberately into pointed weapons required planning, skill and careful selection of the raw material.”
Maria Gema Chacón, Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution
Other architectural traces feature a pole more than 16 feet long with its branches trimmed away, found near several of the fires, which may have been part of a windbreak, alongside crossed poles over another fire that may have formed a tripod. Near hearths and refuse pits, researchers also identified objects resembling meter-long digging sticks.
The most puzzling discovery is a club-like object recovered from Level P. Shaped from a single piece of wood, the item features a distinct narrow handle about 6 inches long separated from a bumpy head by an abrupt step that may have stopped a hand from slipping. Researchers emphasize that this specific configuration has no known parallel in the prehistoric record.
What This Hidden Tool Kit Reveals About Daily Life
By analyzing the remains, the research team reconstructed how Neanderthals organized their activities, handled fire, and managed resources in one space. The presence of distinct hearth varieties alongside localized tool concentrations suggests that Neanderthal occupants may have segregated their living space into dedicated zones for work and rest.
“The archaeological record gives us a very biased picture of prehistoric technology. We see the stone because it survives, while a huge part of their material culture has simply disappeared.”
Josep Vallverdú, Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution
With excavations at Abric Romaní ongoing, researchers continue to expose new surfaces where additional imprints emerge from the sediment. The study provides a more detailed picture of the lives of the site’s inhabitants, restoring an enormous part of their material world that most sites have lost.