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A unique rock from Krapina

The Krapina sandstone rock shelter, excavated by Gorjanović-Kramberger between 1899 and 1905, is dated to MIS-5e or about 130, 000 years ago. It precedes the arrival of Homo sapiens in the region by thousands of years, so any cultural remains from the site is strictly done by Neanderthals. Besides the eight white-tailed eagle talons and phalanx, another item seems to indicate that Neanderthals had some aesthetic appreciation. Among the >1000 lithic items, Davorka Radovčić identified a unique cobble in 2013. This is a mostly unmodified brownish, flat piece of micritic limestone (mudstone) bearing an array of black dendritic forms on both sides. It is unique at the site, differing from other tools, cores and flakes, which are dominated by volcanic tuffs, silica tuffs and chert (~88%). The rock is unmodified and the margins show no edge wear, so the rock was never collected as raw material for further reduction or used as a tool. This rock is unique at Krapina and seems to have been collected for its distinctive appearance, suggesting that Krapina Neanderthals had some kind of aesthetic curiosity.

rock ; Krapina ; Neandertals

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