• An illustration by Mariaelena Caputi depicting a jar of glue whose container is composed of an evolutionary scale.
  • An illustration by Mariaelena Caputi depicting a jar of glue whose container is composed of an evolutionary scale.

Glue’s Clues

A new analysis of ancient Neanderthal tools has revealed the presence of an unexpectedly sophisticated adhesive, composed of a mixture of bitumen and ochre. The discovery provides the earliest evidence of a complex glue in Europe and shows that these predecessors to modern humans had a higher level of cognition and cultural development than anthropologists previously thought.

  • An illustration by Mariaelena Caputi depicting a jar of glue whose container is composed of an evolutionary scale.
  • An illustration by Mariaelena Caputi depicting a jar of glue whose container is composed of an evolutionary scale.

Glue’s Clues

A new analysis of ancient Neanderthal tools has revealed the presence of an unexpectedly sophisticated adhesive, composed of a mixture of bitumen and ochre. The discovery provides the earliest evidence of a complex glue in Europe and shows that these predecessors to modern humans had a higher level of cognition and cultural development than anthropologists previously thought.