The World's Oldest Jewellery from 130,000 Years Ago

Researchers have discovered what they think may be the world's oldest known jewellery. White tailed eagle claws have been modified into a possible necklace or bracelet.

Researchers describe eight mostly complete white-tailed eagle talons from the Krapina Neanderthal site in present-day Croatia, dating to approximately 130,000 years ago...

These white-tailed eagle bones, discovered more than 100 years ago, all derive from a single time period at Krapina. Four talons bear multiple edge-smoothed cut marks, and eight show polishing facets or abrasion. Three of the largest talons have small notches at roughly the same place along the plantar surface.

The authors suggest these features may be part of a jewelry assemblage, like mounting the talons in a necklace or bracelet. Some have argued that Neanderthals lacked symbolic ability or copied this behavior from modern humans, but the presence of the talons indicates that the Krapina Neanderthals may have acquired eagle talons for some kind of symbolic purpose. They also demonstrate that the Krapina Neanderthals may have made jewelry 80,000 years before the appearance of modern humans in Europe.

"It's really a stunning discovery. It's one of those things that just appeared out of the blue. It's so unexpected and it's so startling because there's just nothing like it until very recent times to find this kind of jewelry," David Frayer said.

The Archaeology News Network

This is fascinating news to me, albeit Neanderthals are not an area I have much knowledge of. That jewellery existed 80,000 years before modern humans appeared is amazing. And it begs the question, did we copy neanderthals? And if so, are any of our stories today remnants of their stories?
I'm getting carried away, but thought some of you might like to see the article.

If you're reading Spider, you're right. That blog is excellent!

That's so cool! The individual didn't have the best taste in jewellery, but hell, points for creativity!

That time era though... was someone drunk when they stated that number, or its legit? If this is legitimate from 130,000 years ago, huh holy #.

Humans genetic ancestry was creative! Interesting find. . Thanks for sharing

a reply to: Elementalist

Maybe it wasn't jewellery...maybe they were the world's first false teeth?
Maybe not, lol!

But yes, you read it right. One hundred and thirty thousand years ago, someone deliberately polished and cut these claws with the intention of making something decorative. It's staggering.

a reply to: beansidhe

Just one "future" story: "Planet of The Apes".

Amazing discovery...perhaps American Indian stories "Eagle Feather" is still past on from elders...but I am not native.

S&F's!

a reply to: Granite

I have got an over-active imagination, I admit it, but I do find myself wondering about the longevity of our stories. They could be a lot older than we think.

a reply to: beansidhe

I googled "American Indian stories" and found some good info, including
Sioux Indian Story

Find Chapter on "Great Spirit"...this is very well worth reading for ancients knowledge.
The whole book looks amazing.

a reply to: beansidhe
So since the beginning of time women have been putting men in parlous positions for jewelry. That's why I never trust something that bleeds for seven days and doesn't die.

a reply to: Granite

Thank you so much for taking the time, I'm going to enjoy reading that.

a reply to: TechniXcality

I would suspect a woman made it, dear.
Only joking

You can't help but try to imagine the story behind the items, though. Who asked for them, who were they given to, who wanted them? Were they passed down or thrown away? It's so hard to get a sense of the owner (for me).

a reply to: beansidhe

Aye, a woman did indeed.

These thread interest me. Mainly because our understanding of The past is so murky and muddeld we are but a lost species. I also struggle with personal purpose or if the concept even objectively exists and the only way to tell is to look back in history. Thanks for the thread

a reply to: beansidhe

Old Indian Legends on Amazon

Her earlier book...4.7/5 rating.

a reply to: beansidhe

the best part: that "someone" was not likely human like us.

Niice find, modern thinking from a near modern species..waay kool.

originally posted by: beansidhe


This is fascinating news to me, albeit Neanderthals are not an area I have much knowledge of. That jewellery existed 80,000 years before modern humans appeared is amazing. And it begs the question, did we copy neanderthals? And if so, are any of our stories today remnants of their stories?
I'm getting carried away, but thought some of you might like to see the article.

If you're reading Spider, you're right. That blog is excellent!

Its entirely possible that many things may have been copied and knowledge exchanged and shared back and forth between Neanderthal and HSS.

There is a site in the Levant(northern Israel up into central Lebanon) where the Neanderthal who were already there when "we" started our journey out if East Africa and into Europe and Asia had superior lithic technology compared to the HSS who encountered them there. Eventually, the HSS began to copy or were taught by the Neanderthal how to make these tools.

There's also a great deal of evidence that HN and HSS lived at the same sites at the same time and buried their dead together with similar grave goods. This, in my opinion, indicates at the very least, a cooperative relationship where they all lived, worked and hunted together and possibly a familial relationship.

Either way, they were friendly enough with each other to share and exchange knowledge and ideas and there's very little likelihood that were they enemies that they would have buried their deceased together let alone with similar grave goods. This possible jewelry is an impressive find. Just another example of 'the more we learn the less we actually know' and there's always more out there that we can learn about our past. Thanks for posting this!

a reply to: beansidhe

I suspect jewellery was the most likely but perhaps they may have been some form of divination tool because bones were a favourite among a number of different cultures for that purpose.

I get slightly rilled when I read the opinion that because neanderthal looked a bit of a brute neanderthal was a brute. Sure maybe in strength but one of the strongest men I know is a fantastic artist and his work is inspirational and delicate. Having read that the brain was bigger than our modern human one is and differing ideas as to whether they could physically communicate by voice/clicks etc I rather expect that they will always be a mystery to us unless we manage to find a well hidden enclave of them and get to actually meet them or their dna gives up more secrets to us.

Necessity is the mother of invention....

My bet? It would be a magnificent back-scratcher.

You all have an itchy spot right in the middle of your backs now. Sorry

a reply to: Granite

Oh thanks Granite! I read the first chapter of the last one quickly last night, and it's beautifully written.


Thanks for all your comments, everyone. Yes Qumulys, it's itchy now

a reply to: peter vlar

I'm glad you dropped by, because my Neanderthal knowledge is non-existent!

Did we breed with Neanderthals, or did I make that up? If they buried their dead together, it would suggest to me that they thought of each other as family. It wouldn't make sense otherwise; they must have fallen in love, eaten together, fought, done all of the usual things that species do together. Like you say, you don't give the same calibre of grave goods to your enemy.

Does this mean that Neanderthals believed in an afterlife? (I do realise you can't answer that, just thinking out loud. Well, in writing.)

Thanks so much for the information about their superior stone technology, that could then suggest that we got our ideas of jewellery from them? I wonder if they knew they were different from each other or if they didn't care?

It's a really cool find, it makes my brain hurt.

a reply to: beansidhe

No, you didn't make that up. Its mostly restricted to Europeans but there was a back migration approximately 6-7 thousand years ago that introduced Neanderthal genes into Africans. The only people in Africa who do not have Neaderthal genes are the Khoi-San people. As a result of the aforementioned back migration and European Colonialism of the last few hundred years there is a definite presence in varying degrees of the Neanderthal genome across Europe and Africa. There is also a small percentage in some Western Europeans of Denisovan DNA and also in Aboriginal Australians and Melanesians.

I believe that there was a definite exchange of ideas between the various members of the genus Homo who were all surviving in Europe and Asia simultaneously based on similarities in different practices and tool making as I mentioned previously.

While its based mostly on circumstantial evidence, I would point to places such as the Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan where there is evidence of Neanderthal burials from ~65,000 BP until ~35,000 BP as evidence that Neanderthals believed in some version of an afterlife. The grave goods range from tools to animal remains to flowers as well as red ochre which is known to be used for ritualistic purposes.

One of the more remarkable things from the Shanidar cave is a mal Neanderthal who lived an extremely long time for Neanderthals and was around 80 years old when buried. What makes him truly remarkable though is that he lived such a long time after suffering some serious injuries which had healed, including an amputation of part of his arm and a crushing fracture to the orbital socket of one of his eyes. This demonstrates that the Neanderthal community as a whole would have had to care for him while he was healing from various injuries received at different times of his life as well as assisting him long afterward as he was likely blind in one eye, had a pronounced limp and was missing the lower portion of an arm. There's no way he could have survived without a great deal of assistance. This shows that they had a sense of community and compassion that is absent in many Homo Sapiens Sapiens sites from the same time frame. They were every bit as human as we are and perhaps more so.

a reply to: peter vlar

Wow. If they had red ochre, flowers in the grave and a sense of the afterlife, then to go back to Shiloh's point, they must have spoke to each other. They must have had language, not only to comunicate with each other but also to process internally the concept of an otherworld.

And to survive that long with his inuries, yes he must have been cared for. Someone must have brought him food at the very, very least.
So we learned from Neanderthals? Or shared ideas with them. I remember reading somewhere that some Australian stories could be around 40,000 years old - passed down through families. It just makes me wonder if we're still telling Neanderthal stories today?

Thanks for your input by the way, it is most gratefully received.