The University of Gibraltar is pleased to announce another peer-reviewed publication. Prof Clive Finlayson, Director of the University’s Institute of Life and Earth Science, has published an article with Stewart Finlayson in the journal Quaternary International. The paper provides extensive evidence supporting the proposal that Neanderthals exploited birds of prey and other members of the crow family to use their feathers for decorative purposes. This practice – that of using personal ornamentation – was until recently thought to be only done by members of our own species, Homo sapiens, and was considered to be indicative of superior cognitive abilities. This article is of particular interest as by extending not only the geographic, but also the temporal scale over which evidence for this behaviour by Neanderthals is found, to before members of our own species arrived on the scene, it poses the significant possibility that our ancestors learned this behaviour from the Neanderthals.

The University supports and promotes research of international significance. It has two research institutes and a flagship doctoral research programme as well as research seminar series open to the public. Please visit our Institute for Gibraltar and Mediterranean Studies page and our Institute of Life and Earth Sciences page to learn more about our research activities.

Click here for an abstract of the article.