“Other authors have noted that symbolic and utilitarian functions are closely related among traditional populations,” wrote D'Errico and his colleagues, “and that as a result, it would be difficult for the systematic use of ocher powders to exist for a long period of time without a symbolic dimension being attached to it quite quickly.”
Tens of thousands of years later, without direct evidence, we can only speculate. Which, frankly, is extremely interesting if you have the right caveats and understand your limitations. But there are more and more places and times where we have direct evidence that Neanderthals used color to signal something meaningful to each other, even if we don't know whether it was the meaning: “Og is the second-in-command of all the people east of the river,” “Zogg is one of the people who live in this valley, not that one,” or “Grogg really likes the color yellow.”
As D'Errico and colleagues note, this meaning likely varied from place to place, just as it does today. In most European countries, white is the traditional wedding color, but in China, white is used for funerals. Millennial gray is having its heyday in the US (send help), but brighter colors are trending elsewhere in the world. And in some parts of Eurasia, Neanderthals seemed to favor black manganese-based pigments, while in other parts of Eurasia (such as the Crimea) red and yellow colors were in vogue.
“This variability suggests different cultural trajectories, perhaps related to community-level traditions, long-distance exchanges, or local innovations,” write D'Errico and colleagues.
The real takeaway here is twofold: first, evidence continues to accumulate that Neanderthals were as smart, innovative, and creative as our species, and they developed their own culture and sophisticated tools long before the first wise man went to Eurasia. And secondly, the desire to make art is deeply rooted in our family tree.
Achievements of science2025. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adx4722 (About DOI).
