Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – Birch tar is the oldest synthetic substance made by early humans, and those humans were in the long past – Neanderthals.

But the question remains: how tar was made by Neanderthals?

Königsaue birch tar and experimental production techniques. a KBP1, Königsaue 1 (left); KBP2, Königsaue 2 (right). b Drawing of the condensation method; c cobble-groove condensation method; d the bark roll buried technique; e the pit roll technique; f raised structure. 1, birch bark; 2, birch tar. Explanations in the main text but also see supplementary information. Image Credit: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1007/s12520-023-01789-2

By comparing the chemical analysis of the two birch tar pieces from Königsaue (Germany) and several others from the birch tar collection made with Stone Age techniques, researchers found that surprisingly, Neanderthals did not use the simplest method to make tar.

Instead, they ”distilled tar in an intentionally created underground environment that restricted oxygen flow and remained invisible during the process,” they wrote in the paper

No doubt, this complex process was not a spontaneous one.

Thus, the study suggests that Neanderthals invented or developed this process based on previous simpler methods and consтιтute one of the clearest indicators of cumulative cultural evolution in the European Middle Palaeolithic.

This finding has implications for our understanding of Neanderthal cognitive evolution because birch trees do not show any visible exudate that could have been recognized as a potential adhesive.

To make glue from birch, the bark must be processed using a transformative process, but to date, it remains unknown which technology was used for this.

Research agree that birch tar may document advanced technology, forward planning and cultural capacity in Neanderthals.

Tar making with the condensation method does not require imagination because processes take place aboveground and are visible. The process takes place aboveground and can be triggered accidentally when a fire is lit with burning birch bark.

However, no claim was made that Neanderthals actually produced birch tar with this condensation method.

So, how did they manage to produce birch tar?

In their paper, researchers say:

”If, however, the Königsaue pieces were made with a method including invisible underground processes and intentionally created low-oxygen environments, such a finding would imply that Neanderthals invented or developed a technical process for transforming their material world.

This, in turn, would provide valuable insight into their cognitive and cultural capabilities…”

In fact, these ancient people had to their disposal an alternative method for the production of birch tar. This method enabled them to make birch tar belowground.

Researchers write: ”Underground transformative techniques, like those used to make the Königsaue artefacts, are more difficult than aboveground techniques because some elements cannot be observed or corrected after the procedure began.”

””The Königsaue tar represents cumulative cultural evolution is further strengthened by the fact that it was produced towards the end of the Neanderthal occupation in Europe. Thus, what we show here for the first time is that Neanderthals invented and refined a transformative technique, most likely independently of the influence from Homo sapiens.”

Paper

Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Staff Writer