A Neanderthal cave in northern Spain has yielded 15 marine fossils, indicative that our extinct ancestors might have been collectors, just like we are with certain small objects and memorabilia. Though no extensive evidence is in place to track these discoveries, there is definitely a sense that Neanderthal children practiced this advanced cognition, requiring everyday items to be imbued with symbolic meaning! Collectors with Sharp Cognition: Neanderthals Weren’t ‘Apeish’ The constantly unresolved debate about purported Neanderthal intelligence rests on a spectrum, and while gathering seems like basic behavior, it is indicative of both abstract thought and a complex imagination. What can thus be gleaned is also that hoarding and collecting predated anatomically modern humans, thus adding further gravitas to the debate. Top Ten Myths About Neanderthals How Rabbits Led to Neanderthal Extinction in Iberia and Elsewhere The authors of the study published in the journal Quatenary write: “These fossils can be understood as evidence of an artistic interest or an attraction or curiosity for the forms of nature. Perhaps, like we do today, the people who collected them derived pleasure from the act of looking for them or finding them and keeping them.” Read moreSection: NewsEvolution & Human OriginsAncient PlacesEuropeRead Later