People like to collect things, even though that doesn’t always make sense from an evolutionary point of view. From stamps to comic books and rare coins, if society places emotional or economic value on objects, chances are some people will collect them. Collecting trinkets is not something you can physically sustain, but the act does indicate a certain level of cognitive skills and abstract thinking. But when did we first start collecting objects just because we enjoyed them? Judging from the relics discovered in a cave in Spain’s Iberia, collecting may extend at least as far back as our Neanderthal ancestry.
In a study published Nov. 12 in the journal Quaternaryan archaeological team led by researchers from the Universidad de Burgos analyzed 15 small marine fossils found on the fourth level of the Prado Vargas cave system in Burgos, Spain. While one artifact showed physical evidence of use as a hammer, the other fourteen fossils showed no apparent physical wear or use value. Additional evidence in the caves also indicates that the site served as a semi-permanent Neanderthal encampment likely used for tool making, hunting, or perhaps even ritual activities.
These shell fossils, which averaged less than two inches across, were dated to about 39.8-54.6 thousand years ago during the Upper Cretaceous period, and included remains of species such as early sea snails and saltwater clams. But as researchers note, none of them are native to the immediate vicinity of the cave. Instead, the team estimates that many of the closest original locations of the fossils were in geological formations more than 30 kilometers away.
Previous research shows Neanderthals engaging in cultural rituals such as ornament making, cave wall art, and even family and social funerary burials. Therefore, experts argue that it makes sense that human ancestors likely participated in pursuits such as collecting objects that they found interesting or special.
“This would indicate that Neanderthals had psychological and behavioral characteristics similar to those of our species, for which collecting is a common and complex practice,” the authors wrote.
The researchers explained that since humans collect for a wide range of material and intangible reasons, Neanderthals may have collected the fossils due to a combination of factors, including “competition, cooperation, symbolism, selfishness, selflessness, a sense of continuity, marketing, or addiction.” But just as likely are the same reasons why Neanderthal descendants still love collectibles to this day.
“Maybe… the people who collected them derived pleasure from looking for them, or finding and preserving them,” researchers theorized. “Or they could have been play objects, or perhaps even played a magical-religious role…”
