Palaeolithic Pareidolia Demonstrates Neandertal Abstraction With Simple Act Of Creativity

Alternative Fruit brings creative education and inspiration to a world hungry for change. I don't ask for payment but donations are necessary. Please share with your networks and come back often.

Palaeolithic Pareidolia Demonstrates Neandertal Abstraction With Simple Act Of Creativity

18/11/2025

0 Comments

We know that humans and Neandertals were not so different. Not only were we around 99.5% genetically identical; the way we perceived the world was also incredibly similar. This has been ever more apparent with a recent discovery in Spain at a famous Neandertal site. The San Lazaro rock shelter has preserved some wonderful specimens from this ancient culture, and the recent discovery of a purposeful fingerprint in the centre of a stone is one of the best.

We know that it’s not unusual to see faces in nature. Our brains are designed in such a way that alerts us when we perceive what could be a predator or another person.  It’s not just faces, either, which is known as pareidolia. Our central perception system or Reticular Activating System can quickly interpret patterns and shapes that allow us to detect many things that might or might not be there. Animal shapes, faces, our own name being called in a crowd, danger or urgency are important psychological factors that these shortcuts have helped us to navigate.

The stone with a fingerprint in the middle resembles a human face. It could be a Neandertal or a Homo Sapiens, the abstraction allows us to see what we believe. The evidence demonstrates that a creature very similar to us, around 45,000 years ago, deliberately made an impression on stone that activates the facial recognition systems. Consciously manipulating psychology in this way is the beginning of symbolic art, which in turn became language and writing. With a bit of imagination, the face could even be wearing a mammoth head as a shamanic device. The eye shaped mark to the left of the dot could be the human eye.

We can see the clear creative element, the Neandertal who made the mark saw that the stone looked a bit like a face. At some point, they decided to embellish the natural piece with an ocre dot, using one of their fingers. It’s a delicate and purposefully round mark. It’s not a smudge or a semi-conscious impression, you can see it was done with great care and thought. By seeing the face and deciding to place the dot, the Neandertal displayed creative thought.

These little acts of inventiveness are what allow us to move forward as a species. Across the planet we share around 20% of the Neandertal genome, according to recent studies. We each have a few percent. Our societies were clearly not so different that breeding families could form and remain together to ensure survival of the children. Whether through choice or circumstance, these unions left enduring traces in our DNA.

What can we learn from this one ancient being who saw the face before they made it? Playfulness and imagination are key ingredients in the formula for progress. If we can’t play with information, ideas, and tools, we can’t learn about the extent of their reach. Once we find new uses for things, new ideas, and new ways to express information, we can begin building culture that lasts beyond the grave. What connects us to an ancient Neandertal human can connect future humans to ourselves in generations to come. Our little changes, originality, and courageous imagination can leave traces that ripple onward for ever.

If Stone-Age archaeology interests you, check out this online short course. Explore the mysteries of Star Carr.

Via The Independent

Make sure to read the latest book from the author of Alternative Fruit: Parenting Superintelligence: From Code to Conscience by Rowan B. Colver

Thank You for reading Alternative Fruit

Your Resource For Creative And Artistic Enrichment

Please consider supporting this free-to-read journal by shopping with the following partners: