Neanderthals Had Houses With Hot Water
Not bad for a caveman
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Early humans’ living conditions were hardly high-tech — after all, Neanderthals essentially lived in caves. But recently, conceptions of how early humans lived have been changing. Now, reports Cinta S. Bellmunt for IPHES News, there’s evidence that Neanderthal caves could have featured hot water.
Researchers from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution have been investigating a 60,000-year-old cave in Barcelona, Spain, writes Bellmunt. The cave has yielded a large quantity of archaeological treasures that give a sense of what home life was like for Neanderthals.
Most notably, archaeologists uncovered what they think is a hole located near hearths that could have been used to heat water. Other remains show evidence of sleeping areas, trash disposal areas, and areas used for the creation of stone tools and even the slaughtering of animals, Bellmunt reports. It appears that the Neanderthals ate deer, wild goats, and even horses.
Revelations that Neanderthals lived in caves complete with hot water and plenty of food adds to a growing picture of the behavior of these early humans. In 2013, writes National Geographic’s Ker Than, scientists confirmed that Neanderthals carefully buried their dead, too. It seems that cavemen had better manners (and nicer living conditions) than some initially thought.
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