BERLIN — Two mysterious stone rings found deep inside a French cave were probably built by Neanderthals about 176,500 years ago, proving that the ancient cousins of humans were capable of more complex behaviour than previously thought, scientists say. They probably explored underground as a group and co-operated to build the rings, using fire to illuminate the cave, he said. The Neanderthals who built them must have had a “project” to go so deep into a cave where there was no natural light, said Jaubert. “A plausible explanation is that this was a common meeting place for some type of ritual social behaviour,” Villa suggested. The structures were made from hundreds of pillar-shaped stalagmites, which were chopped to a similar length and laid out in two oval patterns up to 40 centimetres high.

Source: National Post May 26, 2016 10:26 UTC