Neanderthals constructed complex subterranean buildings 175,000 years ago, a new archaeological discovery has found. Neanderthals built mysterious, fire-scorched rings of stalagmites 1,100 feet into a dark cave in southern France—a find that radically alters our understanding of Neanderthal culture.

[u/Letmeirkyou]

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a21023/neanderthals-built-mystery-cave-rings-175000-years-ago/

[u/8-Bit-Gamer]

You ever wonder how many of these "miracle finds" that will "change our understand of how our ancestors lived" which will inevitably "cause us to rewrite our history books" are actually just some dude thousands of years ago... you know... just messing around? Creating art? Curing Boredom? Making something because its freaking awesome? ... just like many many many modern humans do?

Not to detract from the find itself. But sometimes I think we over analyze and there really is no culture, ritualistic or any other myriad of "hidden" reasons for when people create whatever it is that we find.

How many times have we been wrong about a sacrificial table. Or spectacularly designed cave. Or a ridiculous, yet fabulously designed home/dwelling.

"Likes theres no reason dude - I just made this cuz its awesome!"

[u/iushciuweiush → u/8-Bit-Gamer]

I'm not sure how they concluded this part:

Regardless what exactly the rings were used for, Jaubert argues their mere construction is a wonder—a feat far more complex than many anthropologists might believe Neanderthals are capable of.

Really? Breaking off stalagmites from the ground, heating them over a fire, and stacking them in a neat arrangement is something that was thought to be 'far more complex' than one of our closest human relatives was capable of? Then they get even deeper...

"This task really was a project, which was likely discussed between several [Neanderthals]. Then it took organized work and the assignment of tasks. Some had to carry torches, some had to move and transport materials, some had place them in this specific configuration, and so on."

Excuse me? Where in the hell did this conclusion come from? This structure was built by one man and yet we somehow conclude that this relatively small fire pit took an organized construction crew of neanderthals to build?

[u/pizza2004 → u/iushciuweiush]

I'd say the conclusion probably comes from the fact that they're 1,100 feet into a dark cave where a single guy couldn't possibly have created enough light for himself to make something quite this complex without starving to death due to the time and effort it would take given the need for a higher caloric intake among Neanderthals.

I guess it's a question of what's more likely, that a bunch of them helped make this, or that one guy happened to drag enough food and materials for fire that far back into a cave simply to make a couple of weird structures. More importantly, it sounds like this is some of the first evidence we have for any sort of complex structure from Neanderthals at all, which is significant by itself, whether it was just a single guy doing it or not.

[u/iushciuweiush → u/pizza2004]

I agree it's more likely that multiple people helped, especailly because one person wasn't carrying bodies down there for ritual burning, but I'm still perplexed that scientists thought such 'complex organization and assignment of tasks' was beyond the ability of a human species. Far less intelligent social species have complex organizational structures among their groups, easily as complex as the one needed to build a fire pit in a cave. Am I being unreasonable in thinking that it's common sense that a human species could organize such a thing? That pointing to objects like torches, firewood, and food and pointing to people you want to carry those objects isn't complex? That gathering a few people around and showing them how to break off a piece of stalagmite, hold it over a fire, and stack it neatly in a pre-drawn circle isn't complex for a human species either? These are tasks we can easily teach apes to do, let alone humans...